Fauna of the Second Realm

Last updated Aug 20, 2024

• Fauna
• Second realm

Minikin are a sapient rodent species native to the 2nd realm. They are descended from the European Red Squirrel, with a lifespan of 12-18 years, reaching maturity around 8 years of age.

They and grew to become the most populous intelligent race of the 2nd Realm, and are capable of speech, agriculture, forming civilisations, among all of the other skills and industries that come with them.

They are about 25-35cm in height, and are largely hairless besides their tails, noses, hands, and feet when mature, losing during adolescence the furry coats they are born with.

Early Minikin groups were nomadic foragers and hunter-gatherers, living in familial clans which were united in tribes, united in cultures, united in races. Later Minikin groups settled down in arboreal cities, forming city states and, even later, nation states.

Minikin are mostly herbivores, consuming fruits, nuts, leaves, vegetables, and treebark. Due to other forces, such as the development of cooking technology or food scarcity, Minikin also eat various forms of bread such as Lunuth bread, dairy products such as cheese and yoghurt, and alcoholic drinks such as beer and fruit wine.

Bushdeer are a ruminant species native to the 2nd and 1st realms. They are related to Earth deer, with the major differences being their tree-like antlers, distinct white stripes on their sides, and skull-like white markings on their faces.

Bushdeer are herbivorous, their main source of food being leaves and moss. They sometimes eat other foods, such as algae, fungi, and small animals.

Their antlers, their most striking feature, exhibit robust, vascularised, green pseudo-leaves; these leaves contain chloroplasts taken from the various photosynthetic organisms in the bushdeer’s diets, and provide the animal with an extra source of energy.

When bushdeer undergo the instinctual play-dead reflex, the rib-like stripes and skull-like facial markings help to mask their bodies from predators, giving the impression that they have already been fully scavenged and begun to rot.

Pygmy bushdeer are a part-arboreal, smaller version of common bushdeer. They are venerated by the Morellic minikin as sacred animals, and are thus forbidden to be killed in Morellic culture.

They are used as mounts by some Minikin cultures, including the Morellic, who ride them during religious ceremonies and pilgrimages. Other nomadic cultures ride them to find new areas for their livestock to graze.

Wooly hogs are a species native to the 2nd realm which are related to, and resemble, the wild boars of earth. They are small and farmed for their wool and pork.

They are about 25 cm in height when mature, but are proportionately bulky. They feature a large, long head, humped shoulders, small hind end, short legs, and characteristic long, curly fur.

They are farmed by some Minikin cultures for their robust wool and nutricious pork, and are sometimes ridden or yoked. In order to remove parasites from their flesh, they are cooked, and it is considered taboo to eat their pork raw.

Among Morellic hunter minikin, it is said that it is good luck to cleanly cut a wild Wooly Hog’s tail off, and bad luck to fail to do this. These tails are often kept as trophies by hunters, and appear in heraldry as a symbol of good skill.

Dragons are a small amphibious species native to the 2nd, 3rd, and -2nd realms. They are omnivorous, consuming berries and insects, and come in many varieties, each differing in colour. Dragons are inedible but are hunted and used in the making of dyes.

Snoutgoats, also known as Yuriqith (Plural) / Yuriqh (Singular), are a goat species native to the 2nd and 3rd realms. They are half a metre tall, with fur that ranges from light beige to brown.

Some Minikin groups farm or hunt Snoutgoats, utilising their meat, milk, fur, sinew, and dung for food, dairy, clothing, tools, and fuel. Some groups mount snoutgoats, riding them for transport.

Rat monkeys are an arboreal monkey species native to the 2nd and -1st realms, the only monkey species native to Tséireph below the equatorial rainforest. They are small, similar to squirrels in size and habitat, and eat nuts, leaves, and various small animals. They are hunted by some Minikin cultures, such as the early Sarvaran minikin.

Pack snails are a gastropod species native to the 2nd realm. They are large, about the same height as Minikin from their foot to the top of their shells. Their diet consists of leaves and vegetables.

They are used by some Minikin cultures to transport goods such as spices and grains, in which case their shells are fitted with a saddle and utility belts featuring tools and cargo pouches, travelling in often guarded caravans headed by merchants.