#Fire Dwelling Salamander

[thefearwithin]

Mythoscember Day 18 - Frost and Fire-Dwelling Salamanders

Listen I have two minutes to post this shh

Pretty manders

Very nice

Love them so

I have great time management

love and kisses

[maplewood126]

Shadow Dwellers / Cave dragons

One of the more uglier dragons, they are very self aware of their looks. They constantly cover themselves in as much jewelry as they can find to make themseles appear "prettier". Shadow dwellers are big creatures who have big strong forarms and long thick claws for digging, while their smaller back legs are mainly used for pushing themselves deeper underground. They have whiskers on their feet nose and neck to help measure how wide a space is, wether or not its too narrow to get into. Their tails are covered in long sharp spikes, which is used as a defense. They usually come in very dark purples, oranges, blues and reds but yellow and greens have been seen. It is rare for one to have a light color (like the one in picture 4. Picture 4 also shows off the extent of jewelry). Their wings are attacted to their forearms which can make it difficult to move around in some areas in caves. They have four eyes which serve no purpose (i thought it looked cool) the pupils are constantly dilated to make it easier to see in the darker conditions. They are sensitive to light and require special eye wear when traveling above ground. Shadows dwellers call a series of cave systems and tunnels their home, with the kingdom being a very large cavern

[Source: Google]

They have different beliefs as well, believing that the kings should rule instead of the queens. Thsir current king is king Dolomite (1st and 2nd image) his wife is Queen excellent (3rd image) the caves are extremely dangerous, with cave ins being a constant threat and lack of oxygen and narrow passages and falling into deeper holes. You will see many dragons with scars and disabilities from cave ins or falling rocks etc. This is what happened to king Dolomite, who suffered major injuries from one of the largest cave ins in their history. He, unlike many others, was lucky to stay alive, only suffering a disfigured leg and difficult vision in his left eyes. They get alot of their food imported from the shorewings and food that has been hunted from the forest dragons. But the food that they do get from the caves are mainly bite size fish or salamander, cave shrimp and crayfish. Shadowdwellers are fire breathers, and use their Fird to light torches which help the town see throughout the day! Names are based off of cavern names, colors animals that dwell in caves, crystal types and pretty names like beautiful or gorgeous.

[mcdynamite]

Dream

Little late posting this, but written for the @wolfstarmicrofic prompt for February 4th: Dream. Sort of failed miserably at the "micro"fic part, but here you go! 3.3k of Wolfstar! (CW for mention of The Prank, but the story takes place months after it actually happens. Happy/hopeful ending guaranteed!)

Now posted to AO3!

The Gryffindor Common Room is uncannily quiet late at night, long after its many residents have retreated to the safety of their beds. What is ordinarily a bustling, cacophonous space becomes one of stillness… of silence.

But Remus has never minded the quiet.

On the contrary, he quite likes it – the way he can hear the crackling of the hearth as it radiates warmth into the large, empty space. Sometimes, on nights when sleep is even more elusive than usual, he finds himself sitting on the plush couch nearest the fire, keeping the tower’s resident fire-dwelling salamanders company.

Tonight is one of those nights, and he’s only just turned to the next chapter in his novel when he hears the soft padding of footsteps coming down the stairwell from the boys’ dormitories.

He’s not terribly surprised to see that the boy who emerges from the shadows is one he knows quite well. Achingly well, if he’s honest.

Sirius looks exhausted and skittish when he steps into the firelight, and he jumps, slightly, when he lays eyes on Remus, who stares silently up at him from where he’s lounging on the couch. A year ago, one of them would have made a quip about not being able to sleep as they settled in comfortably beside each other, words long having ceased to be necessary.

But this isn’t a year ago. This is now, and even though Remus forgave Sirius for his ill-conceived “prank” on Severus Snape some time ago, things are still different. They’ve been different ever since that night, even after their reconciliation following James’s frantic Floo call to Remus’s cottage on the night Sirius ran away from home.

They’ve only been back at Hogwarts for a few weeks, and though Remus is loath to admit it, the two of them still seem to be finding their footing with each other.

This isn’t a year ago, and Remus knows that’s why Sirius stops short when he first enters the room.

“Remus,” Sirius says softly. His voice is hoarse from sleep, tainted with an edge of guilt Remus desperately wishes weren’t there.

“Hi,” Remus breathes. He closes his book – offers Sirius a small smile. “You’re up awfully late.”

Sirius smiles hesitantly, his eyes darting around the room like he’s waiting for something awful to come leaping out of the shadows. He’s like this often, now – ever since he ran away – and even after weeks of seeing him like this, it doesn’t break Remus’s heart any less. “I’m sorry,” Sirius mutters. “I didn’t know you’d be down here. I can go, if you-”

“No, don’t,” Remus interjects quickly, because even after everything, Remus craves Sirius’s presence like a sprout craves sunlight. Sirius still looks hesitant, so Remus pats the cushion beside him. “Really, Sirius, it’s okay.”

We’re okay, Remus wants to say, only he doesn’t, for fear of being proven wrong.

Still, Sirius flounders for a bit, and Remus wonders if the other boy is really going to flee back up the stairs, after all. But eventually, Sirius sighs and makes his way over, sitting a foot or so away on the other side of the couch.

It’s yet another thing that’s changed, in the last few months. A year ago, Sirius would’ve sat so close they’d be touching from ankle to shoulder – practically on Remus’s lap. Remus quickly pushes the thought away, because if he thinks about it for too long, he may do something terribly embarrassing like cry. Instead, he focuses on the much more important problem at hand, which is the fact that Sirius is still plenty close enough for Remus to notice the trembling in his hands.

Remus swallows and stares at his friend’s shaking fingers, feeling rather wrong-footed. He hates this – God, he fucking hates this. He hates that Sirius is hurting. He hates that things are so strange between them, nowadays. He hates that the strangeness does nothing but make Remus feel like he’s missing a limb – trying to walk without a leg – and that it makes him feel unable to comfort someone who means more to him than anyone could possibly imagine. More than Remus has even admitted to himself.

“Sirius,” Remus says, setting the book on the table beside the couch. “Are you alright?”

The question makes Sirius curl in on himself, and Remus waits patiently for a response, if he’s going to get one at all.

“I-” Sirius starts, then cuts himself off with a sigh. “Yeah, I… it’s fine, Rem. Just a bad dream. You know how it goes.”

Remus does know how it goes, is the thing. He knows better than anyone, because he and Sirius have been sharing the darkest hours of the nights for years after bad dreams – after visions of glowing yellow eyes and sharp teeth have Remus waking in a cold sweat, and memories of shouted curses do the same to Sirius. They’ve talked each other through the aftermath. Held each other at the worst of times, occasionally waking up the next morning so tangled together that Remus couldn’t tell where he ended and Sirius began.

But they don’t do that anymore. Not since…

Remus doesn’t want to think about that, right now.

“Yeah,” he says quietly. “I know.”

There’s a long pause before Sirius speaks again.

“You know…” Sirius says tiredly. “I’m not sure I can remember the last time I had a good dream.”

The statement takes Remus by surprise, not because he’s surprised to hear that Sirius feels this way, but because he’s surprise to hear Sirius say it. It feels dangerously close to opening up, and that’s something the two of them haven’t done with each other in a long, long time.

“There are nights where I don’t really dream, or at least, not that I remember, you know?” Sirius continues. “But I can’t remember the last time I dreamt about something that was good. Something that made me happy.”

Remus’s heart beats unsteadily in his chest, because this, strangely enough, is not something he can relate to. Remus does have good dreams, on occasion, and a great many of them feature the boy with whom he is currently sharing a couch. He’s done his best to shove them to the back of his mind, whenever he wakes up from them. He relegates them to that ever-expanding box of Sirius-related memories that would be better off forgotten and moves on, only now… Sirius is right beside him, prodding at the box with long, aristocratic fingers, and Remus can feel the lid beginning to slip.

But he’s been silent for too long, and he should know better, because Sirius Black has never been able to resist filling a silence. “Do you have good dreams, Moony?” he asks softly.

Remus won’t lie, but that doesn’t mean he has to tell the whole truth. “Sometimes,” he says noncommittally, praying that will be enough of an answer for Sirius.

It’s not. Of course, it’s not.

“Yeah?” Sirius asks, turning sideways to face him – one elbow propped up on the back of the couch and a knee resting on the cushions between them. “What about?”

“Mundane things, really,” Remus answer diplomatically. “Everything’s so awful, out there in the real world, for people like me. Sometimes I dream that I just… disappear. Get a little cottage somewhere off the beaten path, with a garden, and a crup or a kneazle, and I can just sort of… exist, you know?”

It’s all true, even if he’s leaving out the most important parts. The part about Sirius being there with him, cooking dinner together in a tiny kitchen. The part about the bed he shares with a boy with long, wavy black hair and shining grey eyes, that leave him waking up hard and aching with want.

He swallows, and Sirius studies him for what feels like an eternity. Remus is certain that his face must be giving something away. He’s never been particularly good at poker.

“Sounds lonely,” Sirius murmurs, and it cuts through Remus like a knife.

It is, he wants to say. It is, because at least before, I could trick myself into thinking that maybe I wasn’t so crazy. That maybe you could be there, after all.

Instead, he says, “It’s not. Not always, at least. Sometimes I’m not alone.”

There’s a flicker of something sad and haunted in Sirius’s eyes. “Good,” he whispers. “I don’t want you to be alone, Moony. You don’t deserve that.”

Remus blinks at him – barely even thinks before uttering, “Neither do you.”

He nearly chokes on all of the words left unsaid in the silence that follows. There’s a palpable tension in the air, and Remus wonders if perhaps it’s all in his head or if Sirius can feel it too – if Sirius can feel the crushing, all-consuming weight of Remus’s love for him, attempting to bully its way out of Remus’s throat and into the open, like water testing the integrity of an overburdened dam.

Sirius’s gaze is a weighty thing, when it finally settles on Remus again. “Your dream sounds nice,” Sirius says. Remus feels his eyes begin to sting. “Practical, but sort of cozy. Like you.” His ears turn crimson when he says the last, and Remus has to wonder whether he meant to say it at all.

“You could do it too, you know,” Remus says tightly. “There’s nothing stopping you.”

There’s another pause – a long one.

“We could do it together,” Sirius says.

He’s poking that box of memories, again, and this time, the lid goes tumbling off.

Remus laughs wetly and quickly brushes away a tear he never granted permission to fall. “Sometimes we do,” he confesses. “When I dream about it.”

He glances at Sirius, who’s looking at him with wide, teary eyes, and finds that he can’t stop now that the lid is off the box, now that the dam has begun to crack under the pressure.

“Sometimes you come with me,” he says, voice shaking. “And you laugh at me when I fuss over the garden. You bring that muggle record player you have and never turn it off. And sometimes we quarrel about dinner, or whose turn it is to feed the crup, but we’re-” Remus’s voice breaks, and he sniffles. “We’re happy.”

He feels a bit like he’s losing his mind when he finishes, and he can’t bring himself to look at Sirius. It’s as close to a full confession as Remus will ever get, and Sirius is an idiot, sometimes, but he’s not stupid. He’ll be able to put two and two together, and then Remus’s secret – the only one he’s kept closer to his chest than his lycanthropy – will be out. Exposed like a wound that will never fully heal.

Sirius’s voice is strained and soft, when he speaks again. “Remus,” he croaks. “Remus, I…”

He never finishes the thought, and Remus’s blood begins to burn with shame.

But then… Sirius murmurs something else. “Remus, I want that.”

They’re the words Remus has been longing to hear for years, but dismissing them is astonishingly easy.

“You don’t mean that,” Remus says flatly.

“I do, though.”

“No, Sirius, you don’t,” Remus snaps, rising to his feet. “You don’t know what you’re saying – what I’m saying. You don’t know what you’re agreeing to, it’s-”

“No, Remus, listen to me,” Sirius pleads. He reaches out, nimble fingers encircling Remus’s wrist, and Remus freezes. It’s the first time they’ve touched each other beyond an accidental bump in the halls since the night of the prank, and his skin suddenly feels too tight for his body. He’s so shocked, he can’t even bring himself to resist when Sirius pulls him back down to sit on the couch again, much closer this time. Their knees brush against each other, and the contact burns hot like a brand.

Remus looks at Sirius – meets his gaze properly – and is stunned to find that his grey eyes are filled with tears.

“I know what you mean,” Sirius insists. “And I mean what I’m saying, Remus, surely you know that.”

“Sirius, it’s just a dream,” Remus counters tearfully. His heart is dangerously close to cracking open right there inside his chest, and he’s not ready. God, he’s not ready to have his heart broken by the conversation he knows is coming. “And you’re not… you don’t feel that way about me. Not like I do for you.”

“Remus,” Sirius whispers, soft and urgent, like Remus is the one breaking his heart, and not the other way around. “Everyone knows. Everyone knows that I- that I-” He can’t seem to get the words out, but Remus knows what his imagination wants to fill in at the end of the sentence. Two words that simply cannot be true.

Until Sirius Black, unpredictable as ever, does what Remus has never, in four impossibly long years, been able to do.

“Everyone knows that I love you, Remus,” Sirius says, tears streaking down his alabaster cheeks. “Everyone except you.”

Remus forgets how to breathe. “What?”

Sirius sniffles and releases his grip on Remus’s wrist in favor of tangling their fingers together. “I have no right to say that, Moony, I know that. I do. Especially not after… what I did last year. But Gods, I- I can’t do this any longer. I’ve been disowned by my family, Remus, I haven’t talked to Reggie in months, and I’ve still never missed anyone as much as I’ve missed you.”

Remus shakes his head, unable to believe what he’s hearing with his own ears. “Sirius, we talk to each other every day-”

“But we don’t, do we?” Sirius argues, desperate. “Not like we used to. Not like I wish we did. It’s different, now.”

“Of course it’s different!” Remus hisses, his fingers tightening around Sirius’s, even as his own heart tries to pull away. “It’s- I can’t… I’m not…” He huffs in frustration and fails miserably at blinking back the tears that won’t stop coming. Sirius looks utterly devastated when Remus glances at him.

“I know,” Sirius mutters brokenly. “I know, Remus. You can say it.”

Remus takes a shaky breath, and he thinks of all the things he’s wanted to say to Sirius for the last few months – all the questions he’s never asked – but they’re questions he knows Sirius won’t have answers for. Sirius will never be able to tell him why he sold Remus out to Snape, that night, because Sirius doesn’t know why. That much has been clear from the moment it happened.

So Remus doesn’t ask. What he says, instead, is this:

“I don’t understand why it had to be you,” Remus whispers, and he can’t look at Sirius’s face, right now, so instead he looks at their joined hands. “That’s the most fucked up part of this whole mess, Sirius. When I think about it…” He pauses. “When I think about things that I wish were different, my first thought is never that I wish the whole prank never happened – it’s that I wish it had been someone, anyone, other than you who did it.”

Sirius is silent – head bowed and hand shaking in Remus’s grasp, despite how tightly they’re clinging to each other.

“I know it sounds mad, but it’s true,” Remus continues. “Because I love James, and Peter, and Lily – you know I do – but not…” He takes a deep breath and raises his eyes to meet Sirius’s. God, what a messy, tragic pair they make.

He squeezes Sirius’s hand.

“Not like I love you.”

Sirius’s breath hitches softly, his red-rimmed grey eyes flitting back and forth across Remus’s face while the words hang in the air between them. The silence is deafening, ringing with the truths that have finally been voiced after years of silence – that Remus and Sirius’s relationship has never been quite like the others. That it’s always been a different sort of love.

Of course, it’s Sirius who ultimately shatters the silence, and Remus hardly has time to register what’s happening before Sirius chokes out a sob and launches himself into Remus’s arms, clambering into Remus’s lap and wrapping around him like a koala. The broken apologies that emerge between sobs are the final blow to Remus’s fractured heart, and he feels the moment it cracks open, bleeding desperation into every cell in his body. He winds his arms around Sirius’s body and holds him close – just like he used to after their worst nightmares – and stops trying to fight the tears.

“I’m sorry, Remus, I’m so sorry,” Sirius pleads, breaths ghosting over the exposed skin of Remus’s neck. “Please, Remus, you have to believe me. I’m so sorry. Forgive me. Please.” I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

Remus knows – he’s always known – and he forgave Sirius a long time ago, only because he knew Sirius would never forgive himself.

“I know,” Remus murmurs, holding Sirius so tightly he’s nearly surprised Sirius has any air left to speak. “And I do. It’s okay. We’re…” He pauses, because, he wants to tell Sirius that they’re okay, but they’re not. Not really. Not yet. “We’ll be okay, Sirius. We will. I swear it.”

He hears Sirius let out a shuddering breath, but he feels, more than hears, Sirius murmur into the skin of his neck, “I love you.”

“I know,” Remus says again, burying his face in the crook of Sirius’s neck, where the soft wool of his sweater gives way to smooth skin. Sirius’s arms tighten around his middle. “I love you, too.”

“I want-” Sirius starts, interrupted by a soft hiccup. “I want to have good dreams again, Moony.” His voice sounds so small – like that of a child – and it makes Remus ache.

Slowly, gently, Remus extricates himself from Sirius’s grasp so he can look Sirius in the eye. His hand hardly feels like his own when he lets it rest against Sirius’s flush cheek, brushing away the still-falling tears with a careful swipe of his thumb.

They’ve shared a bed dozens of times, before. Spent entire evenings on this very couch with Remus’s head in Sirius’s lap while they laughed with their friends. Sirius is straddling him right now, in this very moment, but this – Remus cradling Sirius’s face in his hand, stubbornly thumbing away tears while they stare at each other, gazes open and honest in a way they’ve never been, even before the prank – is undeniably the most intimate thing they’ve ever done.

And Remus knows, now, what he’s denied for so long – that there will always, always be a part of him that loves Sirius Black, and miraculously, he thinks Sirius may always love him, in return. It may not be tonight, but one day, Sirius will gather the shards of Remus’s heart and put it back together. Breathe love into it like oxygen. And Remus will do the same for him.

Maybe they can start right now.

“You will,” Remus says softly, a wobbly smile on his lips. “But for now, you can borrow mine, if you’d like.”

Sirius’s eyes widen with wonder, and God, Remus loves him. He loves him so much it hurts.

Remus doesn’t know this, yet, but in two years, the two of them will lay together in their bed and bicker teasingly about who kissed who first. Remus will claim that it was Sirius who first leaned in, and Sirius, ever the contrarian, will say the opposite. But they’ll smile through the playful disagreement, and sooner or later, the argument will end with one of them cheekily fitting their lips together in a successful attempt at distraction.

But this isn’t two years from now. Not yet. So for now, Remus doesn’t particularly care whether it’s him or Sirius who initiated it. His only cares in the world are that Sirius tastes like mint toothpaste, and his lips are soft and pliant against Remus’s own, and that their first kiss is a little wet with tears and a little devastating, but still perfect.

It’s perfect because it’s them – RemusandSirius – and for now, that’s enough.

For now, Remus Lupin kisses Sirius Black and smiles, because for the first time in a long time, he knows that his favorite dreams are finally, finally within reach.

[sorryimananti-romantic]

Ateez - Character Concept

Lore: 'An Empire of Dreams and Illusions'

[faerie prince!ateez au]

[Name/Titles]

Kim Hongjoong Prince of Light

[Kingdom]

Kingdom of Scorpio

[Cities]

Antares (Capital) Acrab Jabbah Schubba Sargas

[Sea]

The Topaz Sea

[Animal Form]

Lion

[Court members]

Got7 (Jaebeom as Right Hand, Yugyeom as Captain of Guard) Red Velvet (Seulgi as Head Healer)

[Powers]

Bending light Burning with light Great affinity for healing Only magic to break through illusions 'Unheal'

[Appearance]

Ginger hair Blue eyes Translucent orange wings

[Name/Titles]

Park Seonghwa Prince of Dark

[Family]

Princess Yena of Space (soulmate/wife)

[Kingdom]

Kingdom of Aries (State- Hamal)

[Cities]

Hamal (Capital) Bharani

[Sea]

The Diamond Sea

[Animal Form]

Wolf

[Court members]

Seoho/Jinki (ex-Right Hand) Exo (Kai as Captain of Guard) (G)I-dle (Soyeon as Right Hand, Miyeon as Head Healer)

[Powers]

Bending dark Blinding with darkness or increasing vision when dark Penetrating mind Accessing memories Nullifying most magics

[Appearance]

Dark hair Grey eyes Translucent silver wings

[Name/Titles]

Jeong Yunho Prince of Water

[Kingdom]

Kingdom of Aries (State- Sheratan)

[Cities]

Sheratan (Capital)

[Sea]

The Diamond Sea

[Animal Form]

Sea Dragon

[Court members]

The Rose (Woosung as Head Healer) Itzy (Ryujin as Right Hand, Yeji as Captain of Guard)

[Powers]

Bending water Altering water bodies Controlling temperature of water Element of ice Accessing memories through water bodies

[Appearance]

Strawberry blonde hair Dark brown eyes

[Name/Titles]

Kang Yeosang Prince of Spirit

[Family]

Princess Yena of Space (twin-sister)

[Kingdom]

Kingdom of Gemini (State- Pollux)

[Cities]

Mebsuta (Capital) Makbuda Propus Pollux

[Sea]

The Pearl Sea

[Animal Form]

Meerkat

[Court members]

BTS (Namjoon as Right Hand, Taehyung as Captain of Guard) Mamamoo (Solar as 'Left Hand', Hwasa as Head Healer, Wheein as Vice Captain of Guard)

[Powers]

Detection of living souls Ruler of the 'Other' Dimension where spirits dwell Portals Ability to kill a spirit so it ceases to exist from every plane Astral Projection

[Appearance]

Platinum blonde hair Grey eyes

[Name/Titles]

Choi San Prince of Earth

[Family]

Princess Gaeul of Underworld (soulmate)

[Kingdom]

Kingdom of Cancer

[Cities]

Altarf (Capital) Arkesh

[Sea]

The Ruby Sea

[Animal Form]

Fox

[Court members]

Seventeen (Dokyeom as Right Hand, Mingyu as Captain of Guard) Twice (Jihyo as Head Healer)

[Powers]

Bending earth and the elements within Altering landscapes and geography Great affinity for healing- mostly soothing purposes Commanding animals

[Appearance]

Dark hair with ash ends Dark brown eyes

[Name/Titles]

Song Mingi Prince of Fire

[Kingdom]

Kingdom of Leo

[Cities]

Regulus (Capital) Algieba Denebola

[Sea]

The Turquoise Sea

[Animal Form]

Salamander

[Court members]

Day6 (Jae as Right Hand, Wonpil as Head Healer) Blackpink (Lisa as Captain of Guard)

[Powers]

Bending fire Controlling the temperature of fire Extracting lava from earth Detecting burning souls (either from magic or sth else) Seeing through masking magic and illusions

[Appearance]

Red hair Dark brown eyes

[Name/Titles]

Jung Wooyoung Prince of Air

[Kingdom]

Kingdom of Sagittarius

[Cities]

Rukbat (Capital) Ascella Nunki Kaus Medionalis

[Sea]

The Peridot Sea

[Animal Form]

Hawk

[Court members]

Stray Kids (Changbin as Captain of Guard) Dreamcatcher (Siyeon as Right Hand, Jiu as Head Healer)

[Powers]

Controlling the element of air Controlling properties of air Altering weather Detecting the presence of life Tracing whereabouts of something/someone from scent

[Appearance]

Dark hair with streaks Dark brown eyes Translucent silver wings

[Name/Titles]

Choi Jongho Prince of Nature

[Kingdom]

Kingdom of Libra

[Cities]

Zubenelgenubi (Capital) Zubenelschemali Zubenelakrab

[Sea]

The Opal Sea

[Animal Form]

Bear

[Court members]

Monsta X (Jooheon as Right Hand, Hyungwon as Head Healer, Changkyun as Captain of Guard) Gfriend (Sowon as High Healer)

[Powers]

Controlling element of nature Maintaining harmony and balance in nature Command over life forms Meditative state allows him to connect with nature on another level Great affinity for healing Can 'breathe' life into things (unpractised)

[Appearance]

Dark brown hair Dark brown eyes

[incorrect-mtg]

Flavor Text Highlights - Mirage

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Funny - Pacifism

For the first time in his life, Grakk felt a little warm and fuzzy inside.

Funny - Elixir of Vitality

“Eternal life or your money back.” —Unnamed Suq'Ata merchant, deceased

Emotional - Reign of Terror

“I don’t know what takes them; they die around me without time to scream.” —Scout Ekemet, final journal

Worldbuilding - The entire Love Song of Night and Day* *which I will put under a line break because it's super long AND I want to repost content from a Wizards article which is no longer available

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The full poem, taken from the article of the same name originally posted in 2003 on the wizards website (here) with footnotes explaining which cards quote it.:

Love Song of Night and Day by Jenny Scott

He (Night) / She (Day)

Wrap yourself in your best bright clothes, your red and purple scarves of silk. Run with me to the festival, where we will dance until sunrise. The dwarves will beat their funny drums of zebra skins and hollowed trees, while stiltwalkers perform, and the musician blows his bamboo flute.

And late in the night, the poets and storytellers entertain, delight us with their dancing words, as we listen, clapping by the fire. Enchant me with your tale-telling. Tell about Tree, Grass, River, and Wind. Tell why Truth must fight with Falsehood, and why Truth will always win.1

I will tell my father's stories: how the giant mantis fooled Death by holding still as a felled tree; how the elephants trampled the leopard cub, and its father, though he knew, killed nine goats instead;2 how pirates gambled with a djinn and lost the thing more dear than gold.3

Tonight we'll eat a farewell feast. Cold corn porridge is not enough. Let's peel papayas, pineapples, and mangoes, drink coconut milk, and bake bananas.4 We'll dine on crocodiles, wild birds, and turtles, perhaps a hippopotamus--if only you can catch it first.

I'll build a palace made of stone. Two hippo-headed guards will serve, and tigers carry in your meals. I'll capture flying zebras for your steeds, and fill the stable with every kind of unicorn.5 Butterflies and salamanders will decorate your garden.

I'll strand long strings of beads for you, blue, the color only kings may wear. I'll carve a soapstone lioness, a wooden box to lock it in, girded with sapphire amulets, ostrich feathers, ivory. These things will protect you while I'm gone, remind you of my love for you.6

Your voice resounds like a songbird's, every word is a sweet, soft song. When you run you're graceful and swift, sleek as a powerful panther.7 Mysterious chameleon, you're a thousand women at once, sharp and strong as a lioness, yet gentle as a striped gazelle.

On this our last day together, let us walk across the grasslands. Hold my hand and let's walk slowly, seeing everything as children. Let's walk on the Daraja Plains, where leopards hang from trees, dosing, tasseled tails swaying in the shade, near villages of tree-dwelling elves.

Glorious, to walk again across the savannah with my beloved. A lion walks commandingly, a general among his troops, camped the night before a battle. A snake, colorful and coiled, loops around his bough, mischievous, hanging over the village path.

We'll find termites in their nests, hard tall towers above the plains, and point-eared cats, taking their turns, guarding their many entrances. We'll find the basket-nests of birds hanging from the acacia tree. Rhinoceroses and dragons for once will let us walk in peace.

When lightning tears the sky's dark cloak and heaven's bird beats the water on the muddy plains with its big wings, termites and frogs escape their homes toward the lamps in the nearest village. Spiders dry themselves indoors, the spotted lizards that never fall from ceilings suddenly appear.

In the forest, fires light the sky as the black clouds unfold their weight.8. The black-and-white sacred monkey holds her children to her, and waits.9 Love, like lightning hits suddenly. It sparks the heart with blows of light, its fire extending, bends, expands, beats and breaks your hiding places.

* * *

Remember when we were children, herding the sheep together, leading them over the grassy hills with long sticks. Your silly songs made me laugh, and in the evening, you'd enchant me with your stories, lying on your back beside me. Even then my heart was yours.

I remember your sacred rites. You were so funny, so grown up, so stiff and serious, all arms and elbows. You went in a girl, but you returned a warrior. You marched back with the others-- your hair was cut, your eye tattooed with the red triangle of war.10

Tomorrow I must go, my love. I will tattoo my head with braids. My shield will bear a shining sun so you will always be with me. Inlaid with gold, it will shine like glowing embers.11 I will return with lizard skins for your sandals. Paint your eyes black and wait for me.12

I am the sun, you are the moon. Wherever you lead I will go, following across the wide sky, as long as I live and you love. Sun follows Moon until she tires, then carries her until she's strong and runs ahead of him again.13 I'll carry you, too, my beloved.

My love, we are not Sun and Moon. Instead we are like day and night. The old ones say Day is a woman, who works only while it is light. She herds her goats and catches fish, fills her fields with golden corn, shows her children what is just and protects them from the cobra.

Day loves Night, who works in darkness, walking through heaven's milky sky collecting stars with his quick arms, piling them into a basket like a child collecting lizards and piling them into her pot until the pot overflows with lizards, 'til the basket overflows with light.

Night wears a black cloak lined with fire, studded inside with gleaming stars. At dawn and dusk he spies his love. Across the rolling hills of sky, they glimpse each other--so briefly. They throw each other kisses, cry. Their tears spill over Jamuraa. Mixed with blood, they wash everything red.14

But once, with a magician's help, Time was stopped and Day stood still.15 Night spread over Jamuraa, wrapped Day in his dark cloak and held her. In their miraculous embrace, the two became as One. Until pulled from Day's arms, Night sank, commanded by the western horizon that always beckons him to come.

I won't give up hope, my love.

Our love is like the river in the summer season of long rains: For a little while it spilled its banks, flooding the crops in the fields.16 But soon it will evaporate with the dry heat. Like Day from Night, I'll live my life apart from you, just glimpsing you across the sky, because you cannot change, my dear, and nor can I.17

[1] "Enchant me…" - Village Elder, Mirage [2] "I will tell my father's stories… how the elephants…" - Wild Elephant, Mirage [3] "…pirates…" - Kukemssa Pirates, Mirage [4] "Tonight…" - early harvest, Mirage and Sixth Edition [5] "I'll capture…" - Zebra Unicorn, Mirage (note that "flying" was changed to "gentle" on the card.) [6] "These things…" - Remedy, Visions and Sixth Edition [7] "When you run…" - Panther Warriors, Visions [8] "In the forest…" - Flare, Mirage [9] "The black-and-white…" - simoon, Visions [10] "…you returned a warrior… your hair was cut…" - Zhalfirin Knight, Mirage [11] "My shield…" - blinding light, Mirage [12] "I will return…" - Femeref Knight, Mirage [13] "Sun follows…" - Chariot of the Sun, Mirage [14] "Their tears…" - Mortal Wound, Visions [15] "But once…" - Sands of Time, Visions [16] "Our love…" - Summer Bloom, Visions [17] "Like Day from Night…" - Unfulfilled Desires, Mirage

[es46]

Based on the mythical salamanders; the prongs on its shoulders emulate a second pair of arms - EFRETAMA Title - Charcoal wyvern Monster class - Fanged wyvern Known locales - Outskirts of volcanic regions and miasmic wastelands, with occasional forays to desert regions Element/ailment - Fire + Effluvium Elemental weakness - Water (3), Ice (2), Dragon (1), Fire (0), Thunder (0) Ailment weakness - Stun (3), Paralysis (2), Poison (2), Sleep (1), Blast (0) Efretama is a fanged wyvern typically found roaming miasmic deposits or the outskirts of volcanic regions, with some individuals migrating to deserts. It is distinguished by the bold crimson and black colouring, as well as its bone-like protrusions and the split tail. The physical tail is actually at the base; the two flexible projections are a specialised muscle growth that contains excess miasma from Efretama's metabolic waste. Efretama use the two shovel-like prongs on its lower jaw to dig up resilient vegetation, feeding on various roots, tubers and nuts. They excel at finding the hardy plants that eke out a living in volcanic environments, and supplement their diet with various minerals, including combustible variants. Efretama is relatively passive, unconcerned with any humans passing by. Field researchers can operate peacefully in its proximity, so long as they stay within the fanged wyvern's field of vision. Should Efretama get too close, field researchers can use aromatic sprays to irritate its sense of smell and coerce it to retreat. Should it be threatened by predators, Efretama can usually rely on its prongs to dissuade attack, protecting its neck with armoured scutes. If the attacker persists, Efretama will regurtitate the combusitable minerals it has ingested and ignite them with a specialised organ in its mouth. The resulting blasts of flame are intense, leaving thick clouds of ash behind. This ash is then used as a smokescreen, disguising Efretama's movements as it either continues to fight back or retreats. Additionally, the twin tails, which are actually muscular projections from the true tail forming the base, are loaded with miasmic reserves that release choking clouds of flesh-eating bacteria. This effluvium is a result of Efretama's metabolic processes, as well as its usual habitat encroaching on miasmic deposits. While able to handle it to an extent by storing it in the twin tails Efretama must periodically shed and regrow those tails to avoid effluvial build-up. Researchers believe Efretama's ancestry may be traced to environments such as the Rotten Vale. Efretama are relatively social, several individuals sharing turf as they harvest flora and minerals. They are altruistic, coming to one another's aid should a predator threaten them. Occasionally individuals are known to migrate to desert regions. It is not yet fully understood while these Efretama change environment, though current theories suggest it is to avoid intraspecific competition or find nesting sites. Regardless, these individuals must be closely monitored, as desert regions are less adept at handling the miasmic bacteria Efretama transport. Though not particularly challenging (Low Rank - 3, High/Master Rank - 2), Efretama's use of ailments can make it a tricky opponent. Hunters should make use of water weapons to stymie its fiery breath and endeavour to sever the twin tails to mitigate miasma release. Usually there is little need to slay Efretama, though hunters may have to repel desert-dwelling individuals before too much of their effluvium can spread. Though not exceptionally powerful, Efretama can usually avoid most predators by combining its ashen flames and miasmic gas. However, desert-dwelling individuals may be set upon by the flying wyvern Leovar, whose natural dragon energy gives it resilience to effluvium, and have to fight viciously to repel it. Otherwise, Efretama's main competitor is the carapaceon Quil Vashimu, another herbivore seeking control of productive turf. - Thank you for reading and take care.

[thecreaturecodex]

Lesovik

“The Leshy” © Toly Kivshar, accessed at his ArtStation page here

[I quite like the leshys in Pathfinder; little humanoid plant spirits are a good way to add some whimsy and wonder to low level games. But they’re a terrible representation of the actual folkloric leshy. Even the Witcher games have a more accurate leshy, and that’s something I can basically never say about the Witcher franchise. Fortunately, since the leshy is found under many different names in different Slavic cultures, I could find an alternate name easily.]

Lesovik CR 16 CN Fey This creature is humanoid, but made as much from wood and fungus as it is flesh and blood. Its skin is like bark, and hair, moss and lichen all grow from it, granting it a shaggy pelage and facial hair. They have antlers made of forking branches, hooves for feet, and clawed hands.

A lesovik is a fey creature that considers itself the lord of the forest in which it dwells. They watch over the animals and plants in their domain, and may be helpful or harmful to humanoids, as the whim suits them. Lesoviks are skilled shapechangers, and often take humanoid form to interact with travelers and ferret out their intentions. Those who are polite and respectful of the forest may receive aid in the form of pointing out game trails or helpful advice, but those who are rude or destructive will be led on a wild goose chase and lost in the woods, sometimes to fatal effect.

A lesovik can change its size, so it can become as tall as a tree or small enough to hide behind a blade of grass. If challenged to combat, they usually take their largest form. Any branch or stick held by a lesovik becomes a magical club, which they supplement with their natural attacks. All lesoviks are powerful spellcasters, capable of drawing from druid spells—no two lesoviks are likely to have the exact same tactics.

Lesoviks get along with other fey creatures in their forests, as long as they show proper respect. They consider treants too deliberate and stodgy, but do not try to drive them out. Most lesoviks love gambling, and when the lesoviks from multiple forests come together peacefully, it is usually to gossip and play cards. They may wager the plants and animals in their domains in these games; rapid shifts in animal distributions may be due to a lesovik paying off a debt. Not all interactions between lesoviks are peaceful, and unseasonable storms, spontaneous forest fires and outbreaks of plant diseases may be signs of a battle between lesoviks.

Lesoviks do not grant boons and banes the way some other fey creatures do; they instead use druidic magic to benefit or harm mortals respectively. Some druids were taught by the lesoviks; they tend to have the Plant or Weather domain rather than an animal companion. Lesoviks treat leshys with grandfatherly affection. 

Lesovik                 CR 16 XP 76,800 CN Medium fey (shapechanger) Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., greensight, low-light vision, Perception +33 Defense AC 30, touch 14, flat-footed 26 (+4 Dex, +16 natural) hp 264 (23d6+184) Fort +15, Ref +19, Will +21; +4 vs. mind influencing effects, paralysis, poison, polymorph, sleep, stunning DR 15/cold iron and slashing Defensive Abilities verdant body Offense Speed 40 ft. Melee shillelagh +20/+15/+10 (2d6+8/19-20 plus fear), claw +16 (1d4+3), gore +16 (1d8+3) or 2 claws +18 (1d4+7), gore +18 (1d8+7) Special Attacks cudgel of authority Spells CL 15th, concentration +23 (+27 casting defensively) 8th—quickened cure serious wounds (DC 21), finger of death (DC 26) 7th—control weather, heal (DC 25), transmute metal to wood (DC 25) 6th— quickened bull’s strength, greater dispel magic, move earth, transport via plants 5th—baleful polymorph (DC 23), blessing of the salamander, death ward, quickened entangle (DC 19), wall of thorns 4th—command plants (DC 22), freedom of movement, river of wind (DC 22), strong jaw, thorn body 3rd—greater magic fang, nature’s exile (DC 21), neutralize poison (DC 21), protection from energy, speak with plants, spike growth (DC 21) 2nd—barkskin, cat’s grace, fog cloud, resist energy, stone call, tree shape 1st—faerie fire, feather step, longstrider, produce flame, speak with animals (x2) 0th—detect magic, light, resistance, stabilize        Statistics Str 24, Dex 19, Con 26, Int 15, Wis 26, Cha 17 Base Atk +11; CMB +18; CMD 44 Feats Alertness, Combat Casting, Deceitful, Defensive Combat Training, Improved Critical (club), Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Lightning Reflexes, Multiattack, Quicken Spell, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (club) Skills Bluff +28, Climb +28, Disguise +28, Intimidate +24, Knowledge (geography, nature) +23, Linguistics +6, Perception +33, Sense Motive +33, Stealth +25 (+33 in forest environments), Survival +29 (+37 in forest environments); Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth in forest environments, +8 Survival in forest environments Languages Common, Druidic, Sylvan, 4 others SQ change shape (humanoid, animal or plant, greater polymorph), change size, improved woodland stride, nature empathy (+26), sound mimicry (voices, animal sounds), wild casting Ecology Environment cold or temperate forests Organization solitary or party (2-5) Treasure standard Special Abilities Change Size (Su) As a standard action, a lesovik can grow to Gargantuan size, or shrink to Diminutive size. It may remain as its new size as long as it likes, and return to its normal size as a standard action. The statistics for a lesovik at its different sizes are as follows Diminutive Lesovik: Init +11; AC 30 (+4 size, +7 Dex, +9 natural); Ref +22; Speed 20 ft.; Melee shillelagh +19/+14/+9 (1d4+3/19-20 plus fear), claw +15 (1+1), gore +15 (1d3+2) or 2 claws +17 (1+2), gore +17 (1d3+2); Space 1 ft.; Reach 0 ft.; Str 14, Dex 25; Skills Climb +23, Stealth +40 (+48 in forest environments) Gargantuan Lesovik: Init +6; AC 33, touch 8, flat-footed 31 (-4 size, +2 Dex, +25 natural); Ref +17; Speed 60 ft.; Melee shillelagh +22/+17/+12 (6d6+14/19-20 plus fear), claw +18 (2d6+6), gore +18 (4d6+6) or 2 claws +20 (2d6+13), gore +20 (4d6+13); Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft.; Str 36, Dex 15; Skills Climb +34, Stealth +11 (+19 in forest environments) Cudgel of Authority (Su) Any club held by a lesovik gains the benefits of a shillelagh spell. In addition, when a lesovik successfully makes a critical hit with its club, the creature struck must succeed a DC 24 Will save or cower in fear for 1d4 rounds. This is a mind-influencing fear effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Improved Woodland Stride (Su) A lesovik ignores all difficult terrain created by magical or mundane plant life. Nature Empathy (Ex) This functions as the wild empathy class ability of a druid, except that the lesovik can use this to influence the behavior of animals and plant creatures with an Intelligence of 2 or lower without penalty, but cannot influence the behavior of magical beasts. It can even use this ability on mindless plant creatures. Spells A lesovik can cast spells as a 15th level druid. It does not gain other benefits of the druid class, such as a domain or animal companion, unless it takes levels in druid. Verdant Body (Ex) A lesovik gains a +4 racial bonus on all saving throws against mind influencing effects, paralysis, poison, polymorph, sleep and stunning effects. Wild Casting (Ex) A lesovik can cast druid spells no matter what shape it is in. It treats its body as a holy symbol for the purposes of casting spells.

[alternatepokedex]

retyping thoughts) fire-type Shelmet and Accelgor Sholmet / Salaccel

wow, I drew these two months ago concurrently with retyping Karrablast and Escavalier. Why are these funny rivals so far apart in the 'dex nintendo. I considered doing a redraw to update the art, but decided that was unnecessary. Have I really progressed all that that far as an artist?... I'm not going to dwell on it.

I don't really remember my thought process for making Shelmet and Accelgor olms. Maybe something to do with fire salamanders but not wanting to steal charmander's... thunder, or maybe I just that it'd be neat.

Kinda morbid 'dex entry for Sholmet, getting its tail torn off, but it happened to Slowpokes way back in the day, and hey, at least Sholmet gets a sweet evolution out of it.

[merline-farlaey]

Headcanon Patronuses

My headcanon for the Patronuses of some HL characters.

Sebastian: Bay or Black Stallion

Ominis: Black Mamba or Grass Snake (Albino)

Poppy: Fire-Dwelling Salamander, Unicorn or Hippogriff

Natty: Already known (because of her animagus form)

Professor Fig: Black Swan, Wildcat or Hedgehog

I used this website to deside what could fit them well: https://fantasytopics.com/harry-potter-patronus-list-meanings

[gaygryffindorgal]

► mini profile;

Full Name: Sydney Orville Barlow Birthday: February 13th, 1892 (Aquarius) Pronouns: he/him Sexual Orientation: bisexual Hogwarts House: Slytherin

►academics:

Best Subject: Charms, Transfiguration Worst Subject: Divination, History of Magic Extracurriculars: none Sydney realized early on that him being muggle-born was going to affect the way he was treated in the Wizarding World, so he came up with an elaborate lie about his heritage. Some of the school staff knew, of course, but Sydney convinced them to keep quiet about it (which wasn't difficult, since the school was more than happy to close its eyes from the discrimination faced by muggle-borns). At the age of eleven, he didn't realize the far-reaching consequences of the lie and how far he'd have to go to keep it up.

►magic:

Wand: Larch, 11 inches, phoenix feather core Strong, durable and warm in colour, larch has long been valued as an attractive and powerful wand wood. Its reputation for instilling courage and confidence in the user has ensured that demand has always outstripped supply. This much sought-after wand is, however, hard to please in the matter of ideal owners, and trickier to handle than many imagine. I find that it always creates wands of hidden talents and unexpected effects, which likewise describes the master who deserves it. It is often the case that the witch or wizard who belongs to the larch wand may never realise the full extent of their considerable talents until paired with it, but that they will then make an exceptional match. Patronus: Fire-dwelling salamander This small, fire-dwelling lizard is born out of flames and lives as long as the flames that spawned it, though it can survive outside them for up to six hours if fed properly. This Patronus represents a person that was born and/or has lived under pressing circumstances but overcomes every obstacle, getting stronger each day. People with this Patronus love challenges and are good at handling stress. They're also usually extremely passionate, ready to give their all for an idea or relationship if they feel it's the right move.

►appearence:

Faceclaim: Rami Malek Eye colour: Green/gray Hair colour: Black Height: 5ft 7 (171cm)

►relationships:

Parents: Tyrone and Sarah Barlow Tyrone Barlow and his family live in North Eastern England. He's a muggle and a factory worker and the family isn't particularly well-off. After the death of Tyrone's first wife Katherine, he marries Sarah. As a child, Sydney is close to his parents, but after he starts at Hogwarts, he distances himself from them to keep up his ruse about being pureblood. Tyrone and Sarah are hurt and struggle to understand the stigma around being muggleborn. Older brother: Aiden Tyrone Barlow Aiden is Sydney's half-brother from their father's first marriage, and a muggle. He is five years older than Sydney and the pair were always close as children. When Sydney starts Hogwarts and distances himself from his family, Aiden is hurt but tries to understand the politics of the Wizarding World. Aiden and Sydney reconnect during and after the Great War. FC: Matthew Settle

Friends: OPEN! ​ Dormmates: OPEN for school years 1903-1910 Love interest: Alexej Kavinsky by @potionboy3 During the war, Sydney is taken captive by an extremist group of Anti-Muggle wizards due to his blood status. Alexej saves his life and the two keep running into each other afterwards. FC: Tom Schilling

►about:

While the Sorting Hat couldn't be fooled about his blood status, it saw great potential for Sydney in Slytherin, so it put him there. Slytherin rarely, if ever, accepted any other than pure-blood students, so Sydney had to be clever and careful to survive. He made friends as well as rivals, and left school with excellent marks in Charms, Transfiguration, and DADA. He considered becoming an auror but decided against it in fear of being discovered as a muggle-born. His secret leaked out anyway, thanks to an old school rival of his. Sydney retreated from the Wizarding World despite promising career options at the Ministry. He returned to his family to make amends and joined the army as his brother had done. Sydney is ambitious and cunning, as befits his placement in Slytherin. He's a practiced liar and throws himself easily into any role if it benefits him. He's not malicious, though, and rarely goes out of his way to hurt others. He has a sense of humour and appreciates that in others too. He's not a very open person, though he can make one believe that they know him. He tells the truth more often than not, because the big lies are easier to keep up that way. He doesn't hold strong convictions or loyalty to any cause, and prefers to keep his options open but ultimately he wants to do what he feels is right.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

[king-of-wrath]

Hellish Beasts & How to Avoid Them

Feral Imp: Far more impulsive and cruel than their civilized counterparts, Feral Imps dwell in the wild places. Some are the size of men, though most are shorter and weaker. Their strength, however, is in sheer numbers and they will gleefully tear apart any poor soul they’ve piled onto.

Wretch: Not all sinners keep their minds intact. For some, the mere realization of where they are is enough to sever them from their humanity. Though most are cowardly creatures, they fight with reckless abandon and fiercely protect their hovels.

Hellsteed: Having as many breeds as living horses, Hellsteeds are the prized mounts of many greater demons. Larger, stronger, bolder and faster than their earthly cousins, they stampede across the plains in search of prey. Even when domesticated, taming one is a challenge to the death that few can win.

Dark Pegasus: Unlike Hellsteeds, a Dark Pegasus is a solitary creature that’s fiercely territorial over its hunting grounds. While they generally prefer hunting helpless prey, they will devour any challengers or would-be tamers. A man might bring a Hellsteed under control, but it takes an overlord’s willpower to earn a Pegasus’ loyalty.

Hellboar: Though many have been domesticated and made more tame, the occasional wild Hellboar can still be found. Like their terrestrial cousins, Hellboars are hardy and tenacious beasts with tusks capable of disemboweling a man. When gravely wounded, they fight even harder and will do anything to ensure their killer dies with them---such is their spite.

Warhound: Sometimes called “Feral Hellhounds” by the ignorant, Warhounds are bloodthirsty creatures with larger fangs and claws. Overlords and other demonic tyrants may take them as guard dogs, but their true purpose---what Satan Himself bred them for---is to be unleashed in battle to terrorize and rip enemies to shreds. Some breeds possess toxic or acidic drool, while others sport horns or bone-spikes on their backs.

Manticore: With a spiky tail and a cruel cunning, these winged lions are one of Hell’s greatest predators. Just one is enough of a match for several armed men, but an entire pride on the hunt is a grisly demise guaranteed. Some of the most powerful and merciless overlords have unleashed them in battle, though a Manticore is just as likely to feast on its “master” as it would his enemies.

Hellish Charger: Sporting three horns as sharp as steel and a hide stronger than iron, Chargers are a favored war-beasts among overlords and other demonic tyrants. Though they loosely resemble an Earth rhinoceros, they are the size of elephants and far more temperamental. Satan’s imps ride them into battle atop large platforms---though they can barely control them and riders are trained to hammer a spike into their skull when they go berserk.

Lava Drake: Wingless but no less deadly than dragons, Lava Drakes or “Salamanders” live in volcanic regions and in packs. Rather than breathing fire, they spit molten rock to both burrow their tunnels and melt their enemies. What you might think is a patch of solid ground in a fiery pool is likely the back of a basking Lava Drake.

Hydra: Lurking in the depths of Envy, Hydras are one of the greatest predators across Hell. Most have three serpentine heads and are capable of spitting venom, though accounts report some having seven heads and breathing ice. They swim swiftly and attack small vessels at sea, but they will hunt on land as well.

Red Dragon: Dwelling in the mountains, Red Dragons are one of the largest and strongest beasts in all of Hell. They typically hunt the lesser draconic species---drakes, amphitheres, wyrms and wyverns---in addition to Hellsteeds and Hellboars, but they will not abstain from devouring imps or sinners. Only one overlord has ever successfully tamed one of these dragons.

Black Dragon: Being the strongest and largest beast in Hell, the Black Dragon is thankfully very rare. Bred by Lucifer Himself and gifted to his greatest servants, they are terrors to behold which can turn whole armies to ash in a single breath. Unlike their cousins, however, there is intelligence behind their devastation.

[thenixkat]

Indombe- deepest digging wyrm. Invertebrates. Have plated copper colored exoskeletons that have in iridescent sheen under light. Drink magma and stone liquified by the incredibly corrosive acid that secretes out of their face. Can open their mouth to chew on softer semi-solid rock down where they like to dwell. Adults can grow to be several miles long. Their head’s are extremally hard and inedible and remain for centuries even after the rest of the body had rotted away/been scavenged. Indombe hatchlings sleep in trees to avoid underground predators that hunt small wyrms. 

Associated with the sun and fire in centaur folklore and the goddess that presides over the hottest month of the year takes the shape of an Indombe.

Lindworm- Most common wyrm. Vertebrates, very distant relatives of fire drakes and cattle. Largest species is approximately orca sized, live in family groups. Have massive crushing beaks and an inner set of grinding chewing jaws. ALso have massive strong digging front legs that helps them push aside soil. Leave networks of tunnles where they live and migrate once they’ve exhausted their favorite foods in an area. Enjoy hard rock and boulders. Frequently come up at night to eat wood, shrubs, and grasses. Enjoy milk. Will spit flames and vomit lava in self defense. Their casts make excellent fertilizer.

There are many species of lindworm with different shaped beaks and stone preferences and sizes. Spinner lindworms are known for their drill-like beaks and dramatic breaching leaps out of and back into the earth while migrating.

Knucker- Most valuable in drier regions or areas without natural rivers. Vertebrates, distant relatives of salamanders. Feed on softer stones and soil, particularly like limestone and sandstone. Semi-aquatic and amphibious. They tend to dig through the water table and will build large wyrmholes called knucker holes that fill with water. Knuckers are more predatory than most other stone eating dragons and their knucker holes serve a secondary purpose of attracting prey. Also enjoy milk and dairy.

Male knuckers leave their holes and travel over land to find a mate in the rainy season. They have been known to hide in wells and water towers while traveling. Young knuckers may hide in water barrels and small ponds until they get big enough to establish their own territories.

Tatzelwurm- Smallest digging wyrm. Vertebrate, very distant relative of griffs and wyverns. Not actually very good at digging. Tend to live in rocky crevices or caves in mountains and will gnaw on a variety of stone and crystal. They’ll also leave their caves to hunt small animals like ferbs to supplement their diet. Occasionally kept as pets by centaurs that live in the mountains.

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

[cedar-glade]

If you’ve met me in person or have followed me on instagram, you’ll know how I feel about lawns, the usage of fungicide sprays instead of systemics,  how I think smokey the bear is one of the biggest perpetuated lies/ propaganda machines in forestry history, how I feel about the honey bees in the United States and the misrepresentation of the “save the bees” campaign has increased problems, and how vermiculture and the idea of using surface earthworms in compost has caused reprehensible and some of the most detrimental issues to our ecosystems as a hole. Areas where the phenology of egg laying worms conflicts with fire ecology and burn zones that are highly compartmentalized or continuous burn zones despite either human (first nations) land management or natural or areas where we have glacial fronting history had deep earth worms but never had frequent upper surface earth worms. We are so deeply effected them from the destruction of bacterial and mycological communities that decline in forests. Upper surface earth worms in the US are also what aids establishment of invasives and can even increase foreign allelopathic desertification faster. If you know about ground dwelling bees, or overwintering insects, you should be concerned. If you know about salamanders and foodweb interactions for birds and reptiles as well as small rodents, you should be concerned. From the composting and fishing communities continued usage this decline will only increase. If you live in the subtropical south flat lands post burn we have worms that can thrive because their phenology for surface appearance never is disrupted by burn season, instead it’s beneficial. These earthworms (deep soil) resolve themselves to earth until it’s time to lay eggs.

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/terrestrialanimals/earthworms/index.html

https://ecosystemsontheedge.org/earthworm-invaders/

[londonhalcyon]

@dumpsterhipster​

I finally resumed the one shots (again). This one has been sitting in my drafts forever. And, hey! It’s actually close to my 1k-word limit for once! (Mostly because your neighborhood environmental scientist got a little carried away with the topic and had to cut it short before she had more than her weekly allotment of existential crises.)

Anyway, here’s part one of two. Enjoy!

* * * *

In Hot Water - Part 1 (Lily)

“I don’t get it.”

“What’s not to get?”

“I don’t understand what I’m looking at.”

Tanner grinned, thoroughly pleased with my confusion. He had been casting smug glances in my direction since he had picked me up at the airport the night before. Clearly, my reaction hadn’t disappointed. 

“Tell me what you see,” he said.

I stared at the smooth, crimson-skinned creature at the foot of the tree. It sort of resembled a four-legged slug, one the length of my hand. “It’s a salamander,” I said. 

“Yep.”

“It’s a fire dwelling salamander.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s in water.”

“Correctamundo.”

Between the thick buttress roots of a bald cypress, the supposed fire salamander lounged in a shallow depression filled with water. It had submerged its whole body—and seemed quite content in its little bath. The salamander’s chin rested on a small stone at the edge of the water. While it occasionally turned its head to gaze at us with its black, bulbous eyes, it wasn’t too concerned about our presence. 

Tanner laughed his characteristic jovial laugh. He always found something to laugh about, no matter the situation. “Told ya you’d want to see this.”

“I don’t understand,” I repeated. “It shouldn’t be alive. Fire salamanders can’t survive without salamander fire. Not for more than six hours, and not in water.”

“True. Unless it’s a hybrid.”

“With…what? A regular salamander? How would that work?”

“Well, you see, when two salamanders love each other very much—”

“Thank you!” I exclaimed.

He chuckled. “Honestly, that’s the question. Two different species, two different niches. It shouldn’t be possible. I mean, look around.” 

He pointed towards the trees behind us: thin, straight pines with rough reddish bark and scraggly heads of long green needles. It was the flattest, most open forest I had ever seen. The wide spaces between the tree trunks allowed the sun to cast a golden tint over the short grass below, mixed with dots of yellow, purple, and red from sporadic patches of wildflowers and pitcher plants. 

“Longleaf pine savanna—a fire dependent ecosystem. We do controlled burns here all the time. The perfect fire salamander habitat.”

He pointed towards the cypresses, where the trees were far less open. The grass and bushes here were taller, more tangled together, and a far deeper green than most of the savanna. There was a small pond beyond the tree trunks, but I was more likely to be swallowed by vines than reach it on foot. 

“Temporary wetland. The actual swampy part of the swamp. The vegetation doesn’t burn as well here, so it's better for species that thrive in wetter conditions—like good ol’ ordinary salamanders. All part of the same ecosystem, but different niches. There shouldn’t be overlap. Hypothetically.”

“Your hypothesis just got rejected,” I said, looking back at the fire salamander that was not, in fact, on fire. 

“So, new hypothesis: hybridization. And desperation. The population numbers of both species are declining, so the choice of mates is limited. I know a flaming amphibian wouldn’t be my ideal date.”

“What’s causing the decline?”

“Scale rot, habitat degradation, water pollution, etcetera, etcetera. Take your pick. There are quite a few of them.” 

“Hybridization isn’t viable in the long-term. The genetics…”

“Yeah, the genetics are a bitch. Got some colleagues looking into inbreeding too. They’re worried these guys might be speedrunning themselves into local extinction.”

“Any plans for reintroduction? ‘Cause I know a reserve back home that has a ton of fire salamanders. I could talk to some contacts.”

“Thought about it. But reintroduction isn’t going to do any good if the habitat conditions don’t improve. And no one wants to sink thousands of dollars into captive breeding until we have more data.”

“If they’re worth saving, you mean,” I said flatly. 

He snapped his fingers. “Right on the money. Or lack thereof.”

So we were dealing with all the usual depressing stuff. Great. 

“What are you looking for? Genetic importance?” Fire salamanders existed worldwide, but if these were a genetically distinct subspecies, that might change things.

“My geneticist friends are. I’m more interested in ecological importance. A lot of processes at work in this forest. Not many like it left in the country.”

“And the non-magical salamanders they’re hybridizing with?”

“Got a No-Maj team looking into them, with one Magizoologist in the mix. We have a reasonable research plan for both species. Now it’s just a matter of getting the go-ahead. And the funds.”

My legs had begun to cramp where I was crouched. I dropped to one knee on the unexpectedly spongy ground. Water soaked through my jeans. 

“What can I do to help?” I asked. 

Tanner shot me a broad grin, too mischievous. “I’m so glad you asked,” he said. “Since I know how much you absolutely love grant writing—”

“No.”

“—and since I know how amazing you are at it, how stellar—”

“Tanner.”

“—could you—pretty please—proofread our draft?”

“Oh.” I relaxed. “Yeah, sure. You could’ve led with that.”

Not nearly as mischievous, he said, “I have written twenty pages of letters and essays in the past two days. Let me find little things to entertain myself, please.”

I laughed. “So we’re out here because…?”

“I really needed a walk.” He pointed at the salamander. “Plus that? That’s cool as hell.”

“Yeah.” 

Not a bad way to spend your last few generations: as a magical disaster chilling in a puddle. Well, maybe not chilling. 

I squinted at the water around the little red amphibian. Bubbles had begun to rapidly rise, approaching a rolling boil. The salamander continued to rest its chin on the stone, its eyes half-closed. “Huh. That’s new.”

Tanner retrieved a notebook from his pack. “‘Spontaneous boiling,’” he wrote aloud. Twirling his pencil around his fingers, he added cheerfully, “Grant funding here we come.”

[spindrifters]

o oooo o for the writers ask game - marginalia remus questions 10,16 and 45!!

10. What fact do they excitedly tell everyone about at every opportunity?

To be honest, I have a really hard time imagining Remus doing this at all. :( I do think that once he starts reading, though, Peter will ask out of morbid curiosity about the muggle novels he's found, and Remus finds that he gets really excited talking about them. Wayyyyy earlier on (think age 4/5), he learned about lizards shedding their tails when threatened and thought it was the coolest thing. Lyall got him a couple baby fire-dwelling salamanders to raise.

16. What kinds of people do they have arguments with in their head?

Honestly every authority figure he comes up against. He can't argue with them out loud, but in the safety of his mind he can -- and sure as hell does -- call them a cunt and detail every last reason why they're wrong and also an idiot.

45. What’s something unimportant / frivolous that they hate passionately?

The word interesting. Remus is really attuned to other people's moods and particulars -- he has to be, as a survival mechanism. And use of the word interesting (ie: "This dinner ought to be interesting," or, "I thought her art was... interesting") is almost always masking a person's actual intention or the word they really mean. It drives him up the fucking wall and he hates that word with an actual passion.

character questions

[mmmmalo]

Fiamet is all but confirmed at this point to be a fake seadweller. The devs mentioned that the colours of Joey's Simon Says game were a clue to the colours of the important trolls, which were red, orange, green, and purple, and we already have a purple with Cridea; she's axolotl-themed, the lime Extended Zodiac has a sign shaped like an axolotl, and the pre-Act 1 concept art featured an axolotl breathing green fire; she's wearing lime-trimmed socks, and her tail frills in some of the different colour versions in the Act 3 concept art were green, not purple. Plus, her name derives from "Fiametta", a ballet also known as "The Flame of Love", and the flavour text when Joey looks at the Half-Harley Manor TV implies she has a crush on Dot Matrix, so a green girl (contrasting with the red boy Xefros) being her possible love interest may be implied. That said, Fiamet would keep up the fakery when observed, so yeah, she could use seadweller weapons. Also, her location hasn't actually been openly stated IIRC, but we can presume she's either at Jeevik Island or somewhere along the route to it, or wherever the characters actually end up, since she's physically present in the concept art. We can tell from that that she's not going to be somewhere the characters won't meet her, and she wasn't on the train.

Do harpoons HAVE to be used by seadwellers? Land purples at least sometimes live by the ocean, harpoons would be useful to them too, and honestly they'd probably be handy against the land-dwelling megafauna of Alternia as well.

Tetrarchs we know of: Dammek, Fiamet, notably NOT Cridea (Xefros never calls her a Tetrarch and says that Dammek trusts Fiamet but only that Cridea is their "biggest fan", IIRC, so for all I know she doesn't know there even is a rebellion), and Dammek was teasing both Xefros and Chixie with Tetrarchhood to keep them doing what he said. That leaves a space, and the thing the two confirmed Tetrarchs have in common is at least one missing part of their name. The two other characters missing name parts are Elwurd (I was present during a streaming of the game with the devs and they confirmed "Gaegrl Elwurd" is not either of her actual names) and A. Claire. Possibly relevant?

Thorough! This is actually the first I've heard of the axolotl sign... "Canra" huh. That plus a bunch of fetal and tadpole looking signs... I still have reservations wrt Fiamet being a secret limeblood (axolotl isn't a slam dunk to me because Kuprum Maxlol and Marvus Xoloto are also associated), but I get that the case is compelling...

Also do we know for sure limebloods aren't seadwellers of a kind? Clearly not as strong if Karkat's any indication, but doesn't Sburb taunt him with an ocean (of blood)? Doesn't Karkat die "drowning" (in a lava lake)? What if Karkat were an occluded version of the same water-avoiding-seadweller bit that Eridan does? On the other hand, insofar as Deep Impact gives floods racial connotations, Karkat's rhetorical status as lone survivor of white genocide (and arbiter of the fear of such) would also account for the blood ocean imagery... I go on this tangent because I have a nagging sense that there's a relationship between lime and fuschia that hasn't been articulated yet.

Another tack: it's interesting that even though Karkat ended up getting Jesus associations through the Sufferer, Fiamet almost strikes me as a menorah? Her horns resemble the outer candles; suits the salamander's connotations of fire too. I'd already classed troll horns with fire because

They share the yellow-orange color scheme of Light and small fires (eg John's fireplace)

It's consistent with depictions of Mose having rays of light in lieu of horns

Cake-as-slur draws a connection between the cake-toppers of candles and carrots/carets ^, which are further linked to horns-as-antennae through archery ==> (Dammek has a cake topped with horns/teeth in his refrigerator...)

Actually, with her little :3 mouth and tail, it would also make sense to read Fiamet's horns as whiskers..? Rather than a limeblood, is it possible Fiamet's a secret olive blood? That would match her socks... (and olive oil is the traditional fuel of the menorah, if the above holds at all) And since olive bloods are assassins, this would weirdly bolster the idea that Fiamet tried to assassinate Dammek with a harpoon? A seadwelling olive... sounds like a martini lol. But her tail is definitely more akin to an axolotl's tail than a cat-fish's... unless the tail isn't a tail?

It's not a perfect match but the bodies of these GHOST CATFISH resemble the axolotls tail... the ghostliness is tempting because the whole "green isn't working" thing had me suspecting that our encounter with the green-corresponding character would be need to be... but I guess anyone who survives mass slaughter might end up feeling a bit like a ghost by dint of the wall of death behind them? And I guess I contradict myself here, since reading the non-functioning of the green light as a reference to the limeblood genocide is how I arrived at the ghostliness in the first place... bluh, I'm confusing myself.

Anyway regarding the remaining Tetrarchs, I have no clue whatsoever.