Saturday, March 20, 2010

Creatures of my World...

I have a portfolio on Writing.com under the user name Caledonia Lass. I subscribe to a few newsletters there and the Fantasy one asked about creatures, world creation and things like that. So I am going to share my creatures here. Since I have several different types of creatures, I'll just pick one per post.

I have some of the usual ones. You know, like Dwarves and Elves. Things like that. Hey, it is Fantasy you know. While I have several odd creatures I've created, it proved to be a task not unlike character development. You need to create a background for some of them as to how they were created or what happened to create them. Others are just there and undiscovered like the creatures of our world. Folklore is often used to point people in the direction of the creatures, but sometimes folklore isn't always accurate.

Let's begin with my Dargorians. These came about through a brainstorming session with my husband. In my world of Eir du'Brusai, there is a "shattered continent". (I have yet to draw it out on my map) It is named due to the meteor that crashed into it causing islands to form in the ocean in a somewhat perfect circle surrounding the crater. On these islands there were dragons and over the years, they developed into humanoids called Dargorians. Dragons still exist in their original form in other areas of the world as well. While Dargorians follow the traditional dragon types, i.e. Crystal, Amethyst, etc., they have "human" qualities. Qualities such as speech in their own language as well as common languages. Their snouts have shortened so they can manage this speech. Their talons extend out like fingers, some of their scales are softer and more malleable enough to be braided like hair. When they take a mate, they mate for life and usually die directly after their mate. The bond they share is akin to "soul mates" as they feel what the other feels, share thoughts. They stand over nine feet tall and walk on two legs rather than four, they can fly and are very philosophical in nature. They're often very curious creatures and pour over tomes and scrolls to learn as much as they can. Typical dragon behavior. Sort of.

One in particular is my favorite. Her name is Aun. When she stands before people, she will fold her wings around her like a cloak. The two claws at the outer edge of her wings will hook together to form a clasp. She has a mane of softer scales and are usually braided and adorned with jewelry. Aun cannot belch fire, but she can emit a sonic scream that rips the flesh from her adversaries. Because of her scream, she does not speak like some of the others. Instead, she uses telepathy to communicate. Even a chuckle from her would hurt those around her, so she has to be very careful. She's shy, she's quiet. She doesn't like to be around people, so she'll hide out in shadows, on rooftops and keep to herself. Her best friend is Onetta, who happens to be a Kefferling. Which will lead me to those creatures next time. :D

Have any favorite creatures you've either read about or created yourself?

2 comments:

Jessica Bell said...

Aun sounds fascinating! Have you written anything with her as main character. It'd be really interesting to see how you would do that if she doesn't speak, actually. That'd be a challenge. I don't really get into much fantasty but you hooked me with Aun. Great stuff!

Mel Chesley said...

I love Aun as well. I do have her in my second WIP, but not as a main. She shows a lot of emotion in her gestures. When she's shy, she covers her snout. I will do something with her as a main someday. Thanks for the comment!