Nirth Bestiary 1

This is information pertaining to creatures from Wowthisistoogood! who hired me to help create monsters and lore for his stories. Because of this you will be getting monthly lore of his creatures. These creatures are not a part of my own bestiary and are fully the property of Wowthisistoogood! I'm just illustrating and helping him design these creatures for you to all see! 

In the world of Nirth, there exists many strange lands and unique vistas that sprawl across the planet, harboring unique and unknown creatures recognizable and incomprehensible, benevolent, and dangerous. It shares many similarities with our own world, however a major difference in this world is that many people hold an acute fear of bunnies. The people of Nirth treat Rabbits in the way many of us would treat a venomous snake or serpent, and the reason is passed on in legends and hushed whispers of a mysterious race that lives in the far flung and hidden parts of the world. Some have simply referred to them as shifters, sometimes believed to be some form of were creature or skin walker, and other times believed to be a demon. These creatures are known as Feranima.

The young Feranima, called Ferepus in this form, begin life as small, female, rabbit like humanoids, squat and cute, with long lizard like tails of varying colors and a tuft of fur at the tip. They may have a more rabbit like appearance such as that of a anthromorph creature, or it may appear as a human like creature with rabbit features. Their colors vary just as humans do, and just as rabbits do, however they can occasionally possess unique or outlandish colors due to their shapeshifting capabilities. They possess in their arms a retractable sixth finger which emerges from their wrist and is many times larger than their other fingers, reaching about half again as far as their arms. This comes with a poison tipped tooth or claw that works similar to a serpent’s fangs and can inject a deadly venom into it’s foes. Beneath the tuft of fuzz on it’s tail it also possesses three barbed spines with the same toxins within that it can use to strike it’s foes if needed, though they tend to be extremely underdeveloped and generally very few can use them as weapons in this stage of life. They possess sharp teeth, and sharpened claws on their hands and feet. Though they are small and plump, and irresistibly attractive in this form, it is not the true form that they exist as, but a lure used to draw in humanoid men for mating purposes as the feranima are a female only species that require males of similar races to propagate their species.

They can transform in a grotesque manner, shifting and contorting into large, salamander like things with gaping razor toothed maws and drooping ears as well as hideous eyes. In this form the jagged barb like weapon on their wrist takes on a new form as two small sickle like arms that can inflict a creature with it’s toxins as it holds it near it’s mouth for consumption. In this bestial form, it she is much larger and much more deadly, as well as far more resilient to damage from weapons and other various attacks as it can use it’s weight, claws, and powerful tail to punish creatures that attempt to do battle with it, and it’s massive maw can consume those who fall before it.

When a young Feranima has lived many years, and has successfully remained nourished and fed, it matures through a metamorphosis like stage where it enters a cocoon and grows into a new form, emerging as a beautiful cat woman known as a Ferca.

The Ferca are much the same as the Ferepus, however they possess cat like features to varying degrees. Their form retains some similarities to their past forms, simply with their animal like features having been mysteriously altered to be more cat like. They possess very serpent or lizard like features still in their teeth and long powerful tails, but otherwise appear as humanoid or anthropomorphic cat girls. Many of them gain the ability to retract spines from the tips of their long tails which inflict the same venom as their wrist blade, which they get more adept at hiding. Feranima who reach this point in life are much better at luring in humanoid suitors. Because of this much of Feranima society is run by the Ferca, training the Ferepus in the arts of seduction and hunting and working under the command of either more powerful Ferca or Fersa, which are the final form of the strange creatures. The Ferca will often go on raiding parties and take human men with them, occasionally bringing human women and children with them as well to keep them safe and protected, somewhat adopting them into their society. Many males are used for procreation and then eaten, though on occasion a Feranima will become smitten with a human and keep them as a life mate.

The Ferca’s transformation is even more hideous and grandiose than the Ferepus, as they transform into massive cat like snake creatures. Their barbed limbs are closer to the mouth now, and they have lost a pair of legs, however their arms have become very long and powerful. Their size increase has caused them to become much more physically powerful as well and their monstrous form tends to have fully matured barbs on their tails. They possess all of the capabilities of a serpent and as such can consume creatures much larger than usual with their gaping maws. Some humans have told horror stories of hearing the sound of a screaming hiss erupt from the deep woods before several hunters go missing. The Ferca’s animal form can shift between various colors as their cat forms can, and they often possess patterns from multiple kinds of big cat, and some have even been seen with manes like lions despite that being a trademark of a male lion.

Finally, after undergoing yet another metamorphosis, they become panda bear like creatures known as Fersa. The Fersa have much larger claws than their previous counterparts and the barbed fang like appendage is also twice as long as it once was. Their forms are large and very stocky like bears, but have grown to be so due to their consumption of so many humans over the years, causing them to grow thick and more durable. The barbs on their tails are massive spear like protrusions, and their teeth are razor sharp, as are their claws. They are very rare as it requires many meals and partners before they reach enough strength to transform into these forms. The Fersa are often rulers of their societies, or are at least looked upon with reverence and wisdom from the Ferepus and Ferca. On occasion A member of the Ferca and a member of the Ferepus will represent their clans (Usually only a Ferepus if they are in a strange situation such as the older members of the tribe being killed or younger ones setting out to start their own), but it is far more often they will simply represent their age hierarchy among a conclave of Feranima while the Fersa are protectors and matriarchs of society.

The Fersa’s true form is the most destructive and horrifying of all of the others, and towers over them as a huge serpent like beast with a twisted panda head and massive sickle arms. Their arms and tail can still inflict the toxins on creatures they strike, however humanoid sized prey are impaled as if by a lance when these massive beasts strike them. Their arms have grown to be extremely long and powerful to drag their heavy bodies, and they can crush creatures beneath their clawed palms with a single swipe of their claws. They can take extreme punishment and their bodies are quite durable, allowing them to take even high caliber weapons fire or explosive damage and survive, and the most dangerous Fersa are one man armies on a battlefield.

All of the Feranima possess traits from animal ancestors, and they are known for being quite voracious due to their snake heritage, leading to quite a few of them to be on the thicker or fat side due to the large calorie count humans possess. Chances are the fatter the feranima, the better she is in bed, or the more seductive she is as it often denotes that they have lured many men to their fate. The older a Feranima gets and the more seductive and successful at hunting it is, they tend to gather less tribal clothing as outfits are stolen or given to them by humans as gifts, or taken from humans they have eaten.

There are legends even among the Feranima, of some that retain their animal qualities from previous forms as they metamorphose, leading to strange hybrids of cat, bear, and rabbit. Some that have achieved great strength and age and have yet to metamorphose like caterpillars whom have grown too fat to become butterflies, and even of aquatic relatives in rare and ancient locations with more in common with polar bears and sharks than the Fersa known by their society…