Humans are an interesting species. Their endless quest for that last
esoteric fact has driven them across the lands and throughout the seas.
Ironically, this omnipotent intelligence bores the humans as they live
their dull lives with no goals to achieve. Once in a while, however, a
revelation shakes the pillars of their knowledge, sending them tumbling.
Suddenly there is posed a new goal: to climb back up and seek
omnipotence once again. This mental collapse fascinates the humans.
My name is Ajiroth and I am about to shake the foundations once more. I
have spent many moons traveling across the lands of Medievia, from the
bright lights of Trellor to the murky swamps of Lyryranoth to document
the creatures in the wilderness. Hired by the Academy of Braneri to
further expand the knowledge of the beasts that roam outside city walls, I
expected to only confirm what we have already known. I was wrong. From
my observations, the creatures in the wilderness posses far more
sophisticated traits than originally assumed. Their actions are captivating to
study and often humorous. Their behaviors are intelligent and eerily
human, exhibiting such emotions as sadness, fear, and love. I hope the
Academy receives these notes on a collection of the species I have
studied so far. Though this is only a small peek at what goes on behind
nature's curtain; it is sufficient enough to topple even the strongest
pillars of our pre-disposed assumptions of the wilderness creatures.
I will begin this documentation with the most startling creature during
my travels: the enormous ogre. Standing at a colossal height, sometimes
twice the size of a human, the ogre is definitely one of the strongest
and most intimidating creatures in this land. One could smell its
stench from quite some distance and can feel the ground absolutely shake as
the ogre tramples across the land in its blind way. Though their bodies
are rarely covered, a curious nose ring is present upon every ogre,
most likely stolen from some unwary traveler I fear. The domain of this
species is broad, scattered throughout the lands as they are. I
hypothesize the reason for its land-wide dominance is due to its ability to hunt
and kill any creature with its sheer power and the awesome endurance in
the most formidable weather. The ogre's enormous size contrasts with
its seemingly limited intelligence. Ogres have no known forms of
communications besides their physical actions. Their vicious fighting skills
possessing pure strength and lack of dexterity makes the ogre seem like a
simple-minded brute. The creature is commonly believed capable of only a
few goals in life; eat, sleep, and mate.
I was able to observe the courtship of two ogres one day by coincidence
as I stumbled upon a male ogre wooing a female ogre. The male ogre
begins by displaying to the female incredible physical feats. Although the
bulky body of the ogre may seem sturdy they are actually quite limber.
The male ogre managed a few barrel rolls and stood on its head for a
good ten seconds before he came crashing down like a redwood tree. This
is a feat one must see to believe as it is quite impressive and differs
greatly from the usual crude dexterity we often see from these
creatures. The female ogre was impressed with the male and offered several
grunts and howls, similar to our form of applause. Sensing his prize was
near with a sly grin, the male ogre continued with more outstanding feats
and boisterous outcries; concluding by scooping the female off her feet
and disappearing among the tall grass. My scientific curiosity urged me
to pursue, but I felt decorum's tug to leave them alone. This candid
moment of a generally stoic and crude creature sparked my curiosity in
these creatures even further. Perhaps they are not as simple-minded as we
think. I humbly suggest that the scientists back home further investigate
the behavior and lifestyle of the ogre. Perhaps we will uncover some
fascinating fact that will benefit us both and maybe even assimilate
the ogre community into a well-established town.
Before my journey I made a list of the possible wildlife I should
examine if I ever come across them. The baenlyr was not on the list, yet I
was unfortunate enough to meet one. A baenlyr looks like a cross between
a human, a snake, and a catfish. Don't let its comical looks fool you;
they are quite potent at combat and wield a myriad of mystical powers.
The origin of the baenlyr is believed to be from the seas, and the species
has somehow adapted to living on land. However, legend has it that the
baenlyr is a reflection of one's own tainted soul, and that if one
should gaze into its eyes a reflection of one's own face shall appear. The
aqueous nature of the baenlyr explains why a majority of these creatures
appear on the border areas and is rarely seen in-land around the city
of Medievia. Baenlyrs are believed to be extremely intelligent beings
and are known to stalk their prey relentlessly often chasing them for
miles. The depth of their intelligence was shown to me in great detail
during one of my experiments.
I had set up a trap early one morning planning to snag a wild tiger for
a behavioral analysis. It was a simple trap with a trigger mechanism to
clasp the victim when the bait was taken away. The bait was a piece of
rabbit roast I had traded from a local road guide earlier. After the
trap was set I skulked into a nearby patch of long grass and patiently
waited for the sweet scent of the roast to attract a tiger. Being a
naturalist, I enjoy sitting outside and connecting with the spirits of
nature. I recall during my younger days where I would fall into a trance
staring out a classroom window, admiring the sparkling morning dew upon
the fresh morning. Though the arid landscape now differed greatly from
the one back home, it was a welcoming sight to find solace.
As I waited for the tiger, the brilliant sun climbed its way up the sky
and down again and soon retreated to its nightly hovel. The yellow moon
rose from its slumber along with its dazzling companions and began its
watch over the earth. As the night wore on, my eyes felt tired as the
soporific scent of the night air beckoned me to sleep. "Just a little
while," I thought, "a short shut-eye and I will be refreshed again." I
yawned, opening my mouth as big as a lion, and my vision slowly grew
smaller and smaller as a black curtain surrounding my sight enfolded into
nothingness. I dreamt I was at sea surrounding the lovely young earth.
Caressing the child in my arms as I rocked it to sleep with my gentle
tides. The sky not so happy with its loss wept. The tears rolling down
her clouds and unto the earth and on to the sea. On to the sea. On to me.
Raindrops falling on to me.
I woke up surprised to find my face wet and quickly realized that it
was raining. Disappointed at my lack of discipline for sleeping on the
job I jumped to my feet, all the while trying to brush the wet grass from
my hair. I ran over to the trap in hopes of at least retrieving my
rabbit roast back before the rain spoiled it. Instead I spied a snake
laying across my trap. Obviously asleep from its delicious meal, I
half-cursed it for eating my bait, but was also glad to have a new specimen to
examine. I looked over the trap and decided it was most likely broken
since it had not closed-up and trapped the snake. I knew I should have
paid more attention on wilderness trapping during my stay at the Academy.
I approached the snake and it did not stir. Ignoring logic in place of
curiosity for a moment, I gently kicked the snake out of the trap's
mouth.
*SNAP* Big mistake. Not only did it wake the snake, but also triggered
the trap that immediately clasped onto my leg. Blood poured out from my
wound and I collapsed to the ground, cursing silently and promising
myself never to use such a trap on another living creature again. The snake
reared up and I now saw its face, my face. A baenlyr. I backed away on
one hand while the other was clasping my wound trying to stop the
bleeding. The baenlyr easily slithered across towards me with almost a smirk
on its face. The rain poured harder now and I noticed a storm coming in
as distant thunder could be heard. It was like a battle drum as the
face-off between man and nature was happening before me. The baenlyr made
a horrible screeching noise and started slithering around me like a
dance, the dance of death. A quick strike hit me in the back and the shock
threw me onto the floor. As I lay sobbing, expecting death, while a
throbbing pain swelled across my back, I thanked the Gods for what life they
have offered me. Dying as an explorer and by a self-set trap was not
the noblest way to die. Then I felt the pressure on my legs being removed.
Something dropped beside me and I turned to see two tiny bottles filled
with green liquid. Instinctively I took a large gulp of the bottle's
contents and instantly the wound on my leg closed, the blood drying
before my eyes. I looked up to thank my rescuer only to be met with the
stare of the baenlyr. The monster now stood at full height over me as rain
drops pattered over his scaly head and dripped down his chin. Its eyes
mocked my existence and it gave a short huff as to pity my pathetic
predicament. With a tired and contemptuous expression the baenlyr turned
swiftly with a swish of its tail and slithered towards the horizon. A
distant, passionate thunder sounded in the distance like an adrenaline
rush that left me trembling in awe. I stood up, brushing the dust off my
body, and looked around to see which God had helped influence this once
savage creature. All I saw was a red puddle from my fall and a bloodied
trap lying on the ground. I apologize to the Academy committee for
being so long winded about this experience, but it was the absolute most
emotional encountered in my entire trip. I strongly advise the Academy to
reevaluate its plans for baenlyr elimination around its area as these
creatures certainly show much deeper emotion and understanding then
originally perceived. Very few creatures I can recall have the ability to
pity another especially one that is not its own species. Travelers
should regard the baenlyr not only as dangerous beasts but also sacred
divinities, for the baenlyr certainly held my life in his hands that day.
Insects are often regarded as harmless as their diminutive size and
timorous nature around humans are far less than intimidating. The insects
I specifically sought to study during my trek were not of such. These
were a species called drosophilae multidao commonly called a swarm of
insects or the Swarm for short. The Academy's records show no known
ancestral species of which the Swarm may have derived from and even the
appearance of the Swarm in the lands was quite sudden. From accounts in the
outer regions, the Swarm may have been brought to Medievia shipped from
another land. Natives of the outer regions recall no accounts of seeing
anything even slightly resembling the ferocity and bloodthirstiness of
the Swarm. The Swarm consists of more than two thousand of these insects
and their erratic circular flying patterns makes the Swarm appear to be
a gigantic black cotton ball. The incessant buzzing of these insects
can be heard from quite some distance and a putrid smell of rotten flesh
is emitted when these creatures are close by. What makes these
creatures dangerous is their persistence and their awesome dexterity. Veteran
warriors tell me that they have never been able to lay down a Swarm
since striking merely one insect down enrages the rest of the Swarm, which
further intensifies the battle. Only through magic has a Swarm been
stopped and annihilated. The Swarm's persistence is also of curious
nature. Whenever their prey flees, the Swarm follows the victim relentlessly
together in a frenzied mob. I assumed that this was under the direction
of a Swarm leader insect, but I decided to compose an experiment to test
my hypothesis just to make sure.
I took several safety measures to make sure that my experiment would
not end up with my fighting an angry Swarm. To this end, I borrowed a mage
from a nearby local clan town and carried several magical staves to
ward off Swarm attacks. I also brought along several green orbs bought
from a town auction that nearly depleted the small pittance I possessed at
the start of my journey. My plan was simple: I knew that two Swarms
often fought each other for territory. If I managed to combine two Swarms
in a battle, the "leader" will be attacked first and most often,
therefore making it easy to distinguish the head Swarm member from the others.
There was one minor inconvenience - how could we get two Swarms
together? My mage companion suggested that we use some sort of bait, but we
quickly realized that the only thing a Swarm truly hungers for is human
flesh. The two of us were also heavily clad: I in my riding skirt and
long-sleeved tunic and him in his heavy blue hooded robe. Therefore, we
theorized, that if we strip ourselves almost bare, we should be able to attract
the scent of Swarms within close proximity of us. Looking back now,
lack of sleep and fatigue on my part and the mage's mesmerization with
what I was wearing was responsible for our absolutely foolish and
senseless plan.
So there we were. About two miles from each other, we waited, I in my
black-laced panties and bra (the normal clothing chafes terribly, you
understand) while the mage wore his skimpy sleeping-shorts. Pretty soon I
could hear the buzzing of the Swarm and its rancid stench. I pointed a
wand of fireball at the sky and discharged a shot. A fiery cloud
expanded into the sky signaling to the mage I had found one. He responded
with a bright lightning bolt, and I started my sprint in his direction. I
could feel the hot wind of a million wings flapping behind me and the
hot odor of the Swarm clung to my skin and lungs. Suddenly, another burst
of fire erupted in the sky, the mage had found one. I responded a
lightning wand of my own to signal my direction. It felt like an endless run,
and if it weren't for the murderous, bloodthirsty insects chasing me I
would have stopped. Just as I was about to collapse from sheer
exhaustion I heard another set of buzzing up ahead. Through the trees, I saw
flashes of a chubby mage running towards my direction, his complexion
red from the physical punishment he was not used to. I also noticed
several welts covered his body, and I laughed silently to myself at the
strained and confused face that had once beamed with power. When we
finally met, I grabbed the mage's hand and yanked him hard to the side, nearly
pulling his arm out of his socket.
We rolled a few yards and I landed face-down in the wet grass. I lay
there for a second trying to regain my strength. The high-pitched buzzing
and increasingly ferocious winds signaled that the two Swarms were
indeed fighting as I hoped, and all that was left was to identify the
primary Swarm insect. That was when I felt a slight pinch on my upper right
thigh. I turned around, infuriated that the mage would touch me in such
a way, but saw that he was barely aware of his surroundings and still
panting heavily. It was then that I realized that it was a single swarm
insect now returning to the two battling Swarms. My heart sunk as I saw
the two Swarms stop fighting and separate into two black masses. For a
second all was silent, I was upright gazing at the two hovering balls
of cotton before me, my mage partner was lying there, wheezing heavily,
and the sun and clouds paused their daily saunter to glance at the
farce unfolding before them. Then, in a heartbeat, the two Swarms charged
at us. I hoisted my companion to his feet and we took off running, every
few steps blasting a spell or two in a feeble attempt to slow down two
very angry Swarms. We took refuge in a clan town - the Swarms dared not
enter such a well-protected place. Many of the clan members gathered
around us giggling and pointing. I guess I would too if I were them. The
mage and I were both nearly naked, covered with bruises, wet grass
stuck to our hair, and both gasping for air. I guess those things add up to
some unnecessary implication and the mage smirked as many bystanders
whispered to him "What have you two been doing?" in a sarcastic tone. We
rested at the clan town's inn and the next day we took along several
clan members as we sought for our equipment in the woods. I offered to
pay for the assistance, but they claimed that what they have seen is quite
enough the payment. I warn future investigators of the Swarm to not
underestimate these creatures and to never take your clothes off even for
the sake of science. And if you do take off your clothes and tempt fate,
be sure you partner can run just as fast as you.
It is with my greatest desire that the Academy receives these entries
in prompt time. I am currently investigating the swamps in the
southwestern part of the land. I hope these first hand accounts have rekindled
the world's interest in the wilderness and that more respect and caution
will be used when traveling and meeting with these creatures. As I
journeyed, I have shown many city residents and clan members excerpts
from my journal. Many of them have expressed great interest in
exploring the wilderness and the creatures that inhabit these areas. I
encourage these actions, as each step reveals a little something on what's
behind nature's curtain. And each peek leads to a new mystery and wonder to
be solved.
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