Today's fun fact (on a Friday though, my internet finally righted itself) is sort of a tie in to last week's, Magic. In the world of Aeria there are many strange creatures different from typical fantasy tropes, although there are a few familiar faces as well. So today, we delve into where creatures and monsters come from. Sure, there may be many folk tales and myths told from town to town, but not all tall tales are bound in truth.
As seen in Rogue's Bane, Arellia does have Orcs in a somewhat stereotypical, if not familiar and warm, facet and Trolls are mentioned as well. However, early on Talin battles fierce Gromoks, comes face to face with Manged Shriekers, and later even hears legends of great and mighty Dragons. Several other fearsome creatures big and small appear in Unearthed Destiny, the second book in the Arellia's Son Trilogy, but where they come from is another matter.
All creatures and monsters are either native to the world of Aeria, such as the case of the Gromoks or Manged Shrikers that obviously evolved their distinctive traits and mannerisms, or are twisted by the forces of Essentia or raw Essentia made manifest in the world. I wanted something different from the normal mythology of gods, titans, etc creating monsters, or them being the result of insane wizards or having just always been there in a Gygaxian Naturalism sort of way. Instead, I took a page from some of H.P. Lovecrafts ideas, where time and space and other dimensions exist. Within these strange dimensions reality is far different, and to me the Essentia was indeed another reality that bled out, permeated, and affected the essence of all things on Aeria. Going to the logical conclusion, when some entity or primal force from the Essentia is brought into a reality that doesn't mesh with what its current state of being is, it is changed and formed to conform to the reality it is brought into.
Thus, as is with Dragons, a raw, powerful entity in the Essentia is drawn forth, and on Aeria the end result is a Dragon. Other entities or motes of other-reality become different things, some more discernible as typical fantasy fare and others more strange or horrifying, even deadly. I even kicked around the idea that in some places Essentia can sort of "breach" Aeria through terrible catastrophes, and the seepage of the Essentia warps and twists creatures to be terrible, mutated versions of themselves.
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