Solsday, Serelakkan 2, 1133 LE
"Why don't we just expand? Why don't we just take over more land? Because of the billion blasted things that'll kill all of us!"
While they are no one unified species, monsters are an extremely well-known category of living being on the planet Keppel. Their presence has been a constant since the inception of the Seventh Draconic Era and the advent of a biosphere on the planet. The concept of a "monster" is unique to Keppel for overlapping reasons: the planet has the greatest density of bioalterating phenomena in the universe (Rrataradn Gateways, Emerald dragons, transmutative solar eclipses, etc). The planet has a long history of magic as a practice, which further scars the natural order of the world. Finally and potentially most damning, races much less durable than the designers of Keppel's biosphere have formed the cultural backbone of the planet's sapient population.
Other planets across Creation do have non-draconic life, but their ecosystems have much fewer catalysts for monster-creation and the only sapient populations on those worlds—dragons and spirits—are much more naturally equipped to handle what dangerous life does arise. Thus, what may seem like a monster-free universe may well be arbitrated as an unsafe and deadly one with the arrival of unadapted explorers.
What constitutes a monster species, as opposed to a mundane one, is rather vague. Most Keppelians would say something along the lines of "you know it when you see it", or failing that, any beast rummaging through their local wilderness. For teratologists across history, however, the idea of defining monsters has borne a few measures.
First and foremost is the ability to manipulate odhir. While a select few mundane animals have been known to utilize limited odhir abilities and certain plants incorporate Sunstep principles into their biology, the vast majority of living beings that manipulate odhir intentionally are people and monsters.
The second measure, more popular for its ability to define the majority of monsters which do not use odhir, is the appetite for sapient beings. This ecological description of monster species as anything higher on the food chain than a sapient race is certainly more robust, but what it leaves out is a lot of lower-level monster varieties, which tend to go for livestock and household pets instead of people directly. Attempts to broaden this to aggression against civilization rarely go well.
Other qualifiers have often been suggested, such as a particular level of physical strength, amount of intent behind attacks, ability to rapidly populate areas, or a generally unchallenged role in the local ecology. Every species of monster meets at least one of these requirements, even though they extend to non-monstrous animals as well. In the end, classifying monsters is an arbitrary task that only marks a species as one that civilized people should strive to combat.
Origin
There is no one origin for monsters. They arise from several distinct categories of event, some more mundane than others. Keppel's environment is uniquely suited for such, given the presence of natural odhir-dense events and the prevalence of dragons and intentionally manipulated magic. The different origins of monster species do not say much about their physical traits or appearances,but rather inform what they may be capable of or motivated by. Classifying a monster is often only useful to find out how to kill it.
Evolution
The most basic forms of "monster" species are those which inhabit a higher order on the food chain than most sapient races. The progenitors of the Myrrekhia, for example, subsisted off of humans and human-descended races for a long time. This classification is mostly political, but the entire concept of monsters exists in opposition to "benign" ecosystems. These species can arise from purely natural evolution, insofar as that concept applies under the ever-present whims of the emerald dragons.
Humans, Canids, and the other races besides dragons have classed a plethora of species into monstrosity by their appetites. As Keppel's biosphere was initially designed to be food for dragons, one might well place them in this group should their appetites turn towards their fellow races. However, evolved monsters are generally the least dangerous type both for sapient beings and the rest of their non-sapient ecosystems. Their reliance on their biosphere to sustain them gives them the same weaknesses as any animal.
Having emerged from as natural a process as possible, evolution-based monsters are often key parts of their local biospheres. Perhaps not always apex predators, but scavengers and population control for otherwise very plentiful prey animals. Monsters may occupy multiple trophic levels in their food webs as well, feeding on lower monsters when they cannot find easier or tastier prey.
Evolution-based monsters are typically motivated by a simple need for food or to protect their young, and are generally on the more benign side of the aggression spectrum. As mundane animals, however powerful, their abilities and motives closely mirror that of non-monstrous biological life. These monster species usually occupy the role of apex predator, unless there are other species of monsters that feed on them in the same area.
Mutagenic
Sometimes called Chimeras, these monsters are created through non-evolutionary bioalteration, such as the abilities of emerald dragons or the long-lost legendary Emerald Tablets. While sustainable species-producing populations rarely emerge from these events, they can be produced repeatedly through the same process if done intentionally. For a non-monstrous example of species produced by this process, the Kokromali were engineered by emerald dragon magic.
Mutagenic monsters are capable of immense strength and size, and the process of being altered severely warps what motives they once had. With so little mental presence in the first place, their psyche is broken as their body and its functions are stretched and repurposed. While not always endowed with innate magical abilities, these Chimeras are among the most aggressive and vengeful monsters in the world. While they begin their monstrous life struggling to adjust to the body they now inhabit, rage and hunting behavior rapidly fuel their learning process.
The most grudge-filled mutagenic monsters have been known to revive echoes of their inciting magic, becoming able to adapt their bodies even further in the hunt. These only appear a handful of times each generation, but it is the imperative duty of all civilized peoples to wipe them out before they become too large of a threat to oppose. Even discounting these outliers, mutagenic monsters do not integrate well into their ecosystems at all, either dying out quickly or becoming rapidly invasive predators.
Mutagenic monsters have a nasty habit of directing whatever process created them into a rudimentary form of immortality, operating on cellular principles not reconstructed by modern science after the intellectual devastation of the Vermillion Wars. While in practice this does not prevent them from being killed, these Chimeras can live for hundreds or even thousands of years, recycling their own bodies to subsist off of less for longer. Outwaiting one of these monsters, especially those native to the Chrysokayan Sea, is very rarely a reliable option.
Corrupted
For those familiar with humans or astronomy, or even just with materials such as rose-cobalt and pyreglass, the concept of a soul corruption is not difficult to grasp. Excessive refined odhir forces its way into one's soul and through activation changes them. This is a simplistic model of it and does not cover the whole range of processes, but it is sufficient enough to describe corrupted monsters. Whether caught in the depths of a planet-waking storm or blasted by a solar eclipse, there are plenty of natural processes on Keppel that can force a soul corruption in a living being. Most of these are fatal regardless, but for the few creatures which survive an event, new strength may await them.
Corrupted monsters retain their original mind and psyche, much like a human does after eclipsing. The trauma of the corrupting event varies, but generally the shorter processes cause less lasting mental damage. Corrupted monsters almost always gain some sort of magical ability, though whether they realize it is another question. Corrupted monster-species have only arisen on a few occasions, as the circumstances needed to make them are rarely applicable to a whole group in the same way. Pack animals have always been the ones to become these new species.
Corrupted monsters have the highest likelihood of being classed as Legendary Beasts, one-of-a-kind monsters with particularly powerful abilities. Their association with magic and their retained instinct and knowledge makes them formidable, and while many corrupted monsters remain relatively happy sticking to their original prey, their aggression is notably higher. One might call it hubris for the power they are commonly bestowed. Overall, this is the most dangerous category of monster.
Possessed
Rrataradn, the Other Side that Haerox places in the shadow of each planet and moon and links through Veilglass Gateways, often has leakages of its native spirits. Formed from the unconscious and the forgotten stories of the system's residents, mostly on Keppel, Rrataradh spirits can only be beaten back and destroyed through ritual and faith. They are particularly vulnerable to these acts, and so sometimes choose to possess living beings to gain the firm physicality needed to resist them. While the possession of people often results in a fused, altered, or erased consciousness on the part of the spirit, animals have this risk much less present.
Theoretically, any kind of spirit may possess a living being and form a possessed monster, but most spirits (Solborne spirits) are created by their respective sun. Haerox, being the sun Keppel actually orbits, does not receive much interference at all from foreign suns' spirits.
Possessed monsters are quite intelligent, though the degradation of the spirit's mind only leaves these residual marks after a couple of years. Resistant to faith-based attacks and often bolstering the body they stole quite intensely, these monsters are more difficult to kill than many others. Fortunately, they are rare enough and self-degrading that the threat they pose is not existential.
Uses
Monsters, like any animal, are made up of materials that can be repurposed and remade into something useful. They are constantly on the minds of most of Keppel's people, and have been since the dawn of civilization. An ever-present antagonist, ever unpredictable and powerful. Monster-hunting as a career has been viable since commerce became popular early on, and even today adventurers wander the wilds in search of valuable resources to be gained from the dangers that live there.
For more mundane monsters, the ones that evolved naturally and some mutagenic ones, the most valuable things are their bones and meat. Carcasses able to be made into edible cuisine are not ubiquitous, but some cultures consider them delicacies. This extends beyond just the meat and organs; some venoms from common slimes or reptilian monsters can be used for seasoning or unique acid-cooking. For mutagenic monsters, their physical strength as supported by their bones and tendons can often be reused in sinew ropes and pulleys, bone-inlaid structural supports, and armored clothing using hides or scales.
Chimeras tend to have vastly improved biological processes compared to more naturalistic monster species, and while their biologies can only be practically used by a very small subset of people, monster-corpse mulch and fertilizer is uniquely potent from these chimeras. There is always a risk of infecting crops with some esoteric effects, leading to the rare plant monsters in the wilds, but the increase in overall harvests worldwide makes it a common risk to take. Agriculture is able to produce a great deal on smaller scales because of chimera-hunting groups.
For the more esoteric monsters, those corrupted or possessed, their magic is often a more sought resource. Be it the materials that make up their body as alchemical ingredients, an attempt to study and recreate their abilities through spells, or the classic human pastime of subsuming that power for one's own, dangerous magical monsters have a lot to offer. Lunar artificers, constantly seeking improved sources of power for their work, often shell out vast sums of wealth to acquire rare magical monster parts. Even some common constructs, such as odhir-sensitive dynamic material for doors, requires material sourced from monster species across the planet.
Discovery of a new unique monster can lead to a unique competitive advantage with some schools of magic, but discovery of an entire population of the same variety can revolutionize magitech, even in just one niche. The aggregate of the monster species with stable hunting strategies builds a backbone of civilization that most people are unaware of. Should monsters be eradicated from the world, many comforts Keppelians now enjoy would become nigh-impossible to acquire.
Legendary Beasts
Despite the name, Legendary Beasts are not uniquely powerful or uncommon compared to other monsters. They are denoted merely by the fact that they are the only one of their kind to emerge, that circumstance cannot or will not allow a second of their particular form to emerge. They are usually created via a unique combination of initial species and specific soul corruption, mutagenic process, or spirit possession—or in rare cases, multiple processes. Legendary Beasts make up the majority of monster varieties, given that each one is a unique sort of being, but of the total population of monsters they are estimated to make up less than five percent at any given time.
All Legendary Beasts are bestowed a name of their kind, such as the Rathann or the Hieratirix. These names are transferred to any prospective monster-slayers who then eclipse the Beast and obtain unique status as their Ennean. For a historical example, Ipawet of the Kilarin was the Ennean of the Legendary Beast known as the Kilarin.
The unpredictability of Legendary Beasts is what makes them most dangerous. Their capabilities cannot be easily gleaned from their form nor color, and their soul component may be high enough to enable absurd outputs of magic at once. Their intelligence varies wildly as well, with some being incredibly cunning and able to set traps to lure monster-slaying prey in.
Three times throughout history, Legendary Beasts have been intelligent enough to use language. The Hiemest, the Strioboros, and the Qarbolast were all noted as speaking in structured languages to their victims, though they were never deciphered. Of these three, the Strioboros was the only one known to also speak languages comprehensible to people, having learned an ancient form of Pseudodraconic from local cities. This intelligence and ability to think abstractly through words made these three the most deadly and dangerous Legendary Beasts—perhaps the most dangerous monsters altogether—since the Criosian Extinction of the 50,000s AT.
