#memoirs from atsea

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What is a monster? An essay written by Mani and The Nightewe

Distinguishing a monster from an animal or person is quite simple. While people and animals are made of blood, bones, and other physical properties, monsters are made primarily of magic and light. Monsters still have physical weight and form, but when they die they decompose much quicker and leave absolutely nothing behind, so studying their evolutionary history and taxonomy is all but impossible at this point, relying mostly on theory.

One thing that is certain in the classification of monsters is what type of light they are made of. Thus far, only three types have been confirmed: sunlight, moonlight, and starlight. Whether this influences their magical properties is still unknown, but whatever magical anomaly is corrupting them seems to affect them regardless of their class.

They don’t have reproductive systems, and instead reproduce by combining manifestations of their souls into a new being. The light they share forms a smaller version of typically the monster that initiates the creation, however there are times when that light shifts, mutating the created monster into something completely new. One thing that is certain, is that if two monsters have different lights, they are unable to produce offspring. For example, a starlight monster cannot create offspring with a moonlight monster, and so on.

A question that arises however. Could a monster and a physical being create offspring together? How would that work? Alas, there have been no documented cases, however the land of Milo is vast, and perhaps a discovery such as that is just waiting to be seen.

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A study of Elves on Milo by Mani and The Nightewe

While humans and dwarves have habited Milo since the dawn of their respective races, elves have only relatively recently begun to make their homes on the continent, having originated from the island civilization of Merith. Originally a kingdom, having since moved to mainland Milo has granted them the title of Empire.

Given their history as a forest nation, elves do not commit to large scale farms, instead opting for gardens scattered throughout their lands intertwined with the trees. They believe that it is important to preserve as much nature as possible, and that trips to their yields give them a chance to express gratitude for what the gods have given them. They are also not shy to sharing these yields with the creatures that pass by, which is another reason their farming methods are more closely related to foraging.

According to human traders, when horses when extinct, it was the elves that started the practice of using moas as transport, although given how recent this had first appeared, it has yet to wield results worth celebrating.

Magic is scarcely understood, and use of it is limited with what knowledge the denizens of Milo have obtained, however it appears that elves are much more attuned with this aspect of the world. When a potion needs to be made, or an item needs a charm, it is usually done so by an elf.

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Meet Mani and The Nightewe! They’re scholars from the distant land of Atsea, a continent far to the east of Milo. So far, they’ve eluded discussion of their homeland, instead opting to study the varieties of creatures and cultures that Milo supplies.

Living in the city of Astral, these two tend to stick to themselves as they study, writing essays as memoirs to fill their ever expanding library.

Allow them to pop in every now and then to discuss their findings, won’t you? They love to share what they’ve learned!