| Star Beasts: Species and Subspecies | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sun Feb 3, 2013 5:51 am (666 Views) | |
| Taifu | Sun Feb 3, 2013 5:51 am Post #1 |
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"And so, the sky fell at her command, and from the flames of falling stars the ember of life was kindled." -Excerpt from "Everlasting Night", by Silver Quill. The rare and previous heretical book is often assumed to have documented the first, temporary rise of Nightmare Moon. A Star Beast, as they are generalised, is a creature of magical origin, commonly divided into five species. While they are all of the same physiology, the 'species' of star beasts are based on their point of origin in the sky, which determines their form when they are 'born' The five species of Star Beast are as follows: Ursa, the Bear. Canis, the Wolf. Taurus, the Bull. Pisces, the Fish. Scorpius, the Scorpion. A Star Beast originates when a star falls from its place in the sky, which remains an exceedingly rare event since the Rain of Stars during the first rise of Nightmare Moon. During the Rain of Stars, Nightmare Moon brought a portion of the sky down upon the earth as part of her attack upon the castle that now lies in the center of the Everfree Forest. By intention or accident, the stars raining down upon Equestria gave birth to the first Star Beasts, which have remained mostly within Everfree though there are some exceptions. Since then, only a few new beasts have been created, usually in haphazard situations where they have terrorised Equestrian populations or been hunted down by other forces in search of one of their primal needs. Physically, Star Beasts retain certain aspects that remain the same no matter the type. For every beast, somewhere on their body, there is a point commonly dubbed the Anima Lumin by philosophers, otherwise known as the 'Soul Light' or 'Soul Star'. This is the largest star on a Star Beast's body, and is vulnerable to physical and magical attacks where other magic may simply scathe off their coat, or be absorbed. Interestingly, the Lumin seems to identify the point in the sky that it formerly occupied; as the few times Star Beasts have been studied, their starry surface mimicked a star-map, perfectly identifying the night sky around its Lumin. The rest of the beast is made of a single form made of physical magic, close to a gelatinous mass. Certain points are definitively different, however. For instance, the inside of the mouth will disintegrate physical matter, where the rest of a body won't. Coloration appears to be random; varying from white and blue in arctic regions to more common purples and pinks in Equestria and similar regions; however some species differ entirely, such as the Pisces which radiates light in shades of silver or gold. While some differences are very apparent there are a few things that define them as a whole. While young Star Beasts may survive on physical matter digested by magical means, and indeed, so may mature ones, the majority of their energy is derived from moonlight, explaining the increased presence of the beasts in the past thousand years. Their habitat is often Everfree though that is subject to the nature of the creatures- often, when their patron constellation is above; they'll be subject to feelings (or whatever the star beasts have that stands in for feelings) of wanderlust, causing them to forsake their positions within the forest in favour of travel across the paths of the stars; attributing to their spread out of Equestria. Though many species of Star Beast are naturally docile, they illicit fear among many more civilised species, and this roaming can cause many altercations with military forces of the countries they decide to take up residence within (Though in certain cases this is subverted, see below). Different types, though technically of the same magical makeup and species, possess many traits that identify them from others. Below is a listing of each type and its specific traits and personality. Ursa "And the stars grew, and from them hulking gargantuans guarded their lessers. And the lessers obeyed their greater for they were two parts of the same whole." The Ursa species is perhaps one of the most often found and most studied by Ponykind. This comes from the fact that Ursas always come in pairs; one major and one minor. This is a perpetual maternal relationship, which goes on until one or both die. Minor: The Ursa Minor is, obviously, the smaller of the two, though still roughly the size of a house, and possesses large resemblance to a bear. Curiously, the coloration and shape of both Minor and Major changes depending on their environment and local wildlife. While a minor is fairly docile when in the presence of a major, it can become enraged on its own, especially when exposed to stressing situations. Major: The Ursa Major is colossal compared to its younger; standing roughly three or four times that of the Minor, though their size is varies wildly. A major is the more intelligent of the pair, and when bonded with a Minor, will usually retreat to a cave or other location for them to share. Until then, however, a Major will roam- forgoing food and health until it can find a Minor to bond with. For this reason, new pairings are few, due to the infrequency of starfalls. Canis "Though her power was great, the rejection of the land was greater, and the stars shattered. Those that held fast took shelter among the storms, while from each shard grew an imprint of the whole." Canises are the second most common of the five species, and the two differing types are barely identifiable as the same race. Only in physical form are they the same, though they differ in size. Minor: Canis Minors are the only known 'lesser' Star Beast, in that they don't form from stars directly, but are spawned when a weak star shatters upon its descent towards the planet. This spawns a grouping of up to five Minors, each about the size of a pony. They work as almost a single mind, however they are flawed in that they are all absolutely identical; a wound to one Minor will appear on the whole pack. Each pack is very territorial, and they will fight each other before fighting together. Major: Canis Majors are perhaps the most alluring to many ponies, in part due to their rarity, and in part due to their intelligence. They stand about thrice the size of a pony, and while they aren't inherently hostile they do share a territorial nature with their Minors. They are a romanticised beast, however only to those creatures of the ground, as they can pose quite a problem for Pegasi due to the clouds they like to inhabit. A Canis Major roams at the forefront of a storm cell, and while they may not guide it, they provide an unexpected nuisance for pegasi weather teams who have to break up the storms before the weather patterns are disrupted. Canis Majors act strangely around ponies, and have been claimed to guide, or even offer shelter to a pony lost in a storm, however none of these claims have ever been proven. A pairing between Canis Majors is something pegasi always dread, because the easily identifiable howls of two Majors communicating heralds a super-storm of destructive size. A Canis Major also subverts the belief that all Star Beasts feed on moonlight; they live mostly on the lightning of the storm they inhabit. Deconstructing a storm cell of a Major often means certain death, however their size and incredible speed means they can often reach the shore and jump to another storm before their energy dies out. Taurus "As the stars raced across the sky, the bull drew from it's place. Though it wished only to return to it's place in the sky, it was a duty to their queen to answer the call." The Taurus is one of the two types of Star Beast that does not have a defined major and minor, however due to the level of rumors and speculation surrounding them, they are often referred to as simply Taurus Majors. Tauruses are rarely seen in Equestria due to the fact that they are in a constant state of wandering. Taurus stampedes are common in the Mild West, and from there they cross close to Equestria's borders, through Gildedale and barely nicking the Gryphon Kingdoms as they head northwest towards the Ekri Sea in pursuit of the Taurus constellation. Where they go from there is unknown, as they've always managed to outrace pursuers by a hair before they reach the Ekri Sea. Theorists suggest that they somehow pass the Leylines, crossing the circumference of the world to reappear on the same route next year. Scorpius "Though all were impervious to the strike of magic, only the projected armor sent spear and arrow skittering from its self, while toxic lashes from above struck down those who dare invoke its ire." The Scorpius is perhaps the most ordinary, and yet most volatile, of the Star Beasts. Beasts of this type rarely leave Everfree as they are slow and expend energy a lot faster to move. They're similar in size to a Canis Major, though obviously in differing proportions, and are dim-witted and poor of sight. They usually bury themselves beneath leaf-litter during the day, emerging at night to soak in moonlight and in some cases travel outside the forest if Scorpio is above. However, they have a poor sense of time and light sensitivity; and are often found out after dawn, sunlight making them incredibly hostile. The most dangerous part of the Scorpius Major is the stinger. A Scorpius Major has, in fact, poison- in a sense, that they can deliver a potent magical substance that works much like the inside of a Star Beast's mouth, corroding the envenomed from the inside. However, due to the size of the stinger a wound from one would likely be fatal with or without the poison. The Scorpio Minor is a by-product of that, being a small, non-venomous version of the Major, reaching up to four inches long. The presence of many Scorpio Minors is a definitive sign that a Major has taken up residence nearby. Pisces "Far off course, and as peace settled upon the world, the stars wrought beautiful creatures in the embrace of the cold deep, far from the warlike creations of the past." The Pisces Major is the rarest, and most sought after type of Star Beast, due to the fact that they cannot form on land. When a star from a particular part of the sky lands within an ocean, it forms perhaps one of the most majestic forms of Star Beast, and one that is uniquely intelligent. A Pisces Major is an ocean fish larger than a whale, reported to be up to a hundred feet long by the few reports of those who see it. It is a symbol of good luck, said to deliver good fortune and a lifetime of luck to any who are caught in its waves as it breaches the surface. It is unknown how many of these there are, and many think there is only one, however recorded starfalls would suggest otherwise. Only a few times has the presence of the Pisces Major been properly recorded. Once, approximately two hundred and fifty years from the current date, a Pisces Major rose from the water at midnight on the full moon, only a short distance offshore of New Saddle. The radiant glow of the Star Beast was enough to illuminate the city and it remained such for approximately ten minutes before it returned to the depths. In its wake, the city was treated to a morning where the shore was alight with tropical fish of glittering colors, that remained without fear of the ponies who stepped into the water, nor the ships, only swimming away as a whole when the Pisces constellation set below the horizon. The only other instance of a Pisces Major was more recent, when a Pisces rose near the bay of Hoofington and disgorged from its maw a large ship of pony origin that was last recorded as scouting a commonly known ship 'graveyard'. The crew was alive, yet shaken, and had to be rescued from the water after it was realised that the ship itself was badly damaged. The recount of the crew stands that they were assaulted by a sea creature that damaged their masts and sails, leaving them adrift, and the winds had carried them into a gargantuan ocean storm - before the Pisces rose up and consumed them not long before the ship would've hit the point of no return and been annihilated by the destructive waters. Any other account of a Pisces Major arising have been sketchy, at most- many accounts from other races corroborate the existence of the Pisces, in their own way, but never has it been seen by more than a handful of ships at once. Edited by Taifu, Sun Feb 3, 2013 3:43 pm.
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3:34 AM Jul 11