Kitter Keep
Most Kitters would describe these adorable critters as cute, fluffy, and utterly harmless. Half the size of the average Meep, these little animals can often be seen in the Grand Forest and around Moonbrick Farm. Inklings are excellent climbers and usually claim random holes in trees as homes for building their nests. Their size is mainly made up of fluff, allowing them to fit through holes half their size.
Farmers detest these creatures, calling them pests and blights. This is due to the fact that Inklings have a voracious appetite for carrots. Just three families of Inklings can devastate a field of carrots in the span of just a couple weeks if nothing is done to stop them. Nearly every shortage of carrots in Moonbrick Farm’s history was due to these critters getting out of control. Worse, if the supply of carrots grows too low to support the Inklings' hunger, then they will begin eating other crops. Farmers must take great care to keep these creatures off of their farms to prevent their fields from being reduced to barren wasteland.
Inklings possess an affinity for the ink element, granting them the ability to spit ink. They use this ability to mark their territory and leave messages for each other. Farmers are urged to clean any ink left by Inklings as soon as possible, as it is probably marking the region as a feeding area for other Inklings. Some Inklings have been observed spitting ink at each other. Whether this is a merely a way Inklings play or if it is a way they fight is still up for speculation. It can’t be denied that it’s adorable to watch, though.
Addendum by Rukk the Farmer: So are you going to include my accent in the addendum? No? Oh, you’ve begun writing? Sorry about that. Anyway, these pests originate from the Great Forest. Their bark-colored fur provided them camouflage from predators. Combined with their unmatched ability to climb, these critters proved to be a handful for anyone who wanted to start a garden in the Great Forest.
Now I know some of you kids have been wanting to have one of these as a pet. Believe me, if these things could be tamed, I’d probably have one as a pet myself. They are pretty adorable, after all. However, Inklings hate being locked up. They’ll bite if you try to bother them. Let me warn you from experience, these things bite hard. Even bloom affinity Kitters who can communicate with forest animals can’t command them. All they want to do is eat, spray ink, and sleep.
There is one thing that keeps Inklings away. They hate anything sour. In fact, they won’t even go near Sourpine juice. I guess they hate the smell of it. You put some of that near your plants and you won’t have to worry about them. Only problem is that they’re really clever when it comes to finding ways around fences. Anyway, I’ve got to got now. I think some Inklings have been getting into my carrots.
Fluffels
Imagine a creature that possesses an intelligence level comparable to a Googator. Now add some fluff and stick a bunch of these together as a group. They’re standing around, waiting for one of their own to speak up and lead them. Then imagine the dumbest of them all speaking up. This is a Fluffel herd.
One of the cutest, calmest, and dumbest species on Ostaria, Fluffels can be found in the Great Plains. They tend to gather in herds and mindlessly follow whichever one of them can baaaa the loudest. Unfortunately, this leader is usually the least intelligent one among them. Fluffel herders have said that they don’t need comedy television because they get all of the comedy they could ever wish for from watching their Fluffel herds.
Fluffels are the main prey of the fearsome Cragwolves. The hardest part of being a Fluffel herder is not watching over the herds, but protecting them from such powerful creatures. Being a Fluffel herder out in the wild is not for the timid.
There are three main breeds of Fluffels:
Thunder Fluffel (Electricity-affinity): The pure white wool on these Fluffels can store large amounts of static electricity. When thunderstorms rage, these Fluffels act like lightning rods, drawing the thunderbolts into their bodies. If they get angry, their wool will turn as black as a storm cloud and bristle with electricity. Should a predator approach, they’ll shoot lightning at it. Their lightning bolts are far weaker than normal lightning bolts. A Kitter hit by one will only be paralyzed for a couple hours and suffer a minor burn that should heal in a couple days. The wool of Thunder Fluffels is valued for its ability to store large amounts of electricity in a similar manner to a battery.
Steel Fluffel (Metal-affinity): Durable, metal wool protects these Fluffels. When they feel threatened or scared, they curl up so that their wool can protect them. In the summer, Steel Fluffels’ wool is able to be plucked off by other Fluffels. This is their way of shedding. Herders who raise these types of Fluffels have developed special razors that mimic the plucking done by a Fluffel to remove the steel wool. This wool is valued for being an excellent source of strong and flexible steel.
Toxic Fluffel (Poison-affinity): Don’t be fooled by the wool on these Fluffels! Their bright pink wool may look and taste sweet, but it’s actually highly toxic! Their bright color is meant to warn predators to stay away. Poison-affinity herders use their abilities to extract the poison from the wool so that they can sell it as a sweet, harmless treat.
Addendum by Tibby: I’ve visited the Great Plains a couple times, so I’ve actually gotten to see the Fluffel herds with my own eyes. They can be really funny sometimes. For example, I once saw a Toxic Fluffel eat its own fur and start panicking. I decided to ask a bloom affinity Kitter who could understand animals to translate what was happening. Apparently, it had just remembered that its wool is poisonous and thought it was going to die. It dropped to the ground, prepared to writhe in agony as it let out panicked baaas. I guess it also forgot that it's immune to its own poison. After an hour, it got up, realized it was okay, and re-entered the herd. Within a week, the entire herd was praising it as a special Fluffel that couldn't be poisoned.
Alge
One of the few creatures to not possess an affinity for any specific element, the Alge are known for the sweet, gooey food they create. The Alge make this scrumptious treat known as Elly from the nectar of the Prisma flower. Elly is a fundamental part of the lives of Alge. Each Alge contains a special crystallized sac containing Elly, with workers’ sacs holding the least amount and the queen’s sac holding the most. When this sac depletes, the Alge dies. The Elly that the Alge don’t eat is given to the larvae Alge as food. Alge larvae are raised in the Ellycomb cubicles within the hive.
Alge hives have the unique trait of being sentient. It guides the Alge through the process of creating Elly, sends mental commands to hide when it senses danger, and allows them to act with stunning coordination. If severe danger threatens the hive, it will switch from creating drones to creating soldiers. Kitter scientists have learned that the hive’s sentience is formed from the collective consciousnesses of all of the Alge, which explains how every Alge has a connection with it.
There are four types of Alge: the workers, the drones, the soldiers, and the queen.
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Workers: The job of a worker is to build the hive, collect nectar, and when necessary, defend the hive. Every worker is female and cannot reproduce. They have a long, sharp stinger to ward off attackers and hairy legs for gathering pollen. Some workers have been observed using what appear to be sword techniques against each other with their long stingers. Some entomologists believe this is how workers argue while others hypothesize that this may be how they train young workers.
Illustration from Hekate's research notebook
Drone: Serving no other purpose aside from reproducing, drones have little use or value in a Alge hive. They are all male and have small stingers.
Soldiers: Created only in hostile environments where a hive feels threatened, soldiers are specially made drones who have been granted elemental powers by the hive so that they may guard against even the most fearsome attackers. Each gains a different ability based on the type of Elly in their crystallized sac. Ember Elly allows them to light their stinger on fire. Ocean Elly lets them squirt little bursts of water. Rocky Elly gives them enough strength to shake the entire hive. Breezy Elly grants them speedy flight. Bright Elly grants the ability to become as blinding as a bright flashlight. Night Elly lets them travel through shadows like a Shadow Hopper.
Queen: Meant only to lay eggs, the queen’s duty is to keep the hive populated. She has an Elly Crystal in place of her stinger and her position is chosen by the hive itself. Sometimes if the hive is damaged, the queen can briefly carry the mental burden of keeping the hive’s consciousness intact so that it can focus on healing.
Addendum by Hekate the Magic Shopkeeper: Apis Elementum, commonly known as the Alge, may hold the key to discovering how Kitters may learn to wield more then one element. By studying Alge soldiers, we may learn the process of how they use Elly to gain an affinity for an element and, in the far future, how to grant Kitters the ability to make use of this process. After that, we may even learn how to combine certain types of Elly to gain secondary elements. Can you imagine a world where every Kitter can choose their element? A world where they are not bound to one element, but free to choose any element at any time?
Unfortunately, the research on how to do this is still in the hypothetical stage. In order to study a Alge hive’s soldiers, we have to place the hive in a hostile environment so that it creates the soldiers. This either results in scientists being injured by the Alge soldiers or the accidental destruction of the hive. As a result, no theory has been able to be formed yet. Still, it’s nice to be able to dream about being able to replace my forbidden element with a better element sometime in the future.
Shovel-nosed Gimple
Inklings
Illustration from Hekate's research notebook
Found in Charfire Desert during winter and The Tropics during summer, the Shovel-nosed Gimple, or the Gimple as it’s called by most Kitters, is a solitary lizard with an affinity for earth who loves the heat. It uses its shovel-like nose to burrow under the sand and construct itself miniature caverns to live in. Kitters traveling in sandy areas containing Gimples should keep an eye out for any strange indentations in the sand, as this may be a sign that a burrow is under there. Stepping on the ceiling of a Gimple’s burrow may result in it collapsing, creating a sinkhole. While the burrow is rarely deep enough to trap or seriously injure a Kitter, Gimples react aggressively to anyone who disturbs their homes. Luckily, their bite does not hurt very much.
When a Gimple is hot, the spade on their back inflates. They can use this to tether themselves in the sand when waves wash up on a beach or act as a floatation device should they find themselves in deep water. Despite preferring hot, sandy environments, Gimples are perfectly capable of swimming with their webbed feet. The webbing in their toes serves a twofold purpose, as it helps them to move lots of dirt when digging.
Addendum by Hazel the Librarian: Agamidae Spade, commonly known as the Shovel-nosed Gimple, is considered unique by zoologists for its winter migrations from a humid tropical region to a dry desert region. During the summer, the Gimple resides on the southeastern beaches of the Clear Sea found in The Tropics. Here, their diet revolves around eating crustaceans. To hunt these, they stand on the edge of the water, tether their tail in the sand to prevent being swept away when a wave
passes over them, and use their mouths to grab the shells that are washed up. They then use the sharp beak found under their nose to crack open the shells of the crustaceans.
During the winter, the water in the Clear Sea becomes too cold for the Gimples to survive in. To escape the chill of winter, they migrate to the eastern parts of Charfire Desert and stay until the end of winter. While some travel as far as Mercy Lake so that they may continue eating crustaceans, most switch their diet to hunting an unusual prey for lizards: Snakes. For currently unknown reasons, snakes consider Gimples superior predators rather than prey. Research on this odd behavior is still ongoing.
Boomkins
These explosive affinity fowls love two things: Explosions and pecking. Any animal foolish enough to get close to a Boomkin will find themselves subjected to being pecked by the whole flock. Boomkin chicks do this because they are curious about the world around them. Adult Boomkins peck things mainly because they find the other animals’ reactions funny. They’ll never seriously injure an animal with their pecking since they want to be able to peck them in the future. Boomkin mates often peck each other gently as a teasing gesture of affection.
Boomkins are surprisingly intelligent animals. They are careful not to peck predators, hard objects, or their farmer. If the farmer is nearby, they’ll act like innocent, well-behaved birds that would never peck another animal. They also know the farmer will protect them, so whenever predators approach, Boomkins will run to the farmer’s house and let out loud alarm squawks. As a result, Boomkins are often used by farmers to warn them of intruders.
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When Boomkins are frightened or cornered, they release a high-pitched squawk of terror before exploding, decimating anything within six feet of them. Once the smoke clears, the Boomkin is black and missing their feathers, but otherwise very alive. They cannot blow up again until their feathers regrow. This takes two days.
Eggs laid by Boomkins are marked with orange speckles. There are no warning cracks to say when the egg is about to hatch. One second, everything is peaceful, the next second, a loud boom is heard and a little Boomkin is running around pecking things, clearly delighted to be free of its egg. The force with which the egg will explode can be estimated by counting the speckles on the egg. Never keep an egg that has more than five speckles indoors.
If a Boomkin is angry, it might try to secretly lay an egg inside the house for revenge, so treat it well and keep it outdoors. Farmers have discovered that keeping the egg soaked in water for two days will cause it to lose its explosive properties. After being soaked, these eggs are sold on the market. It is a commonly known fact that the more speckles a Boomkin egg has, the more explosive and delicious the flavor is.
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Addendum by Rukk the Farmer: Howdy again! It turns out that I know something about these birds that even Hazel doesn’t know. He asked me to add it here. So have you ever wondered why Boomkins can’t blow up without their feathers? That’s because their feathers are lined with an explosive oil that ignites when they’re afraid. When I asked Hazel why nature designed them to only blow up once, he theorized some sort of theory about how their bodies probably need time to recover after exploding.
Bullrushes and Milkflowers
Unique for possessing an affinity for both a secondary element (bloom) and an original element (water), Bullrushes and Milkflowers live in the Dead Swamp. Their fur provides camouflage from predators, allowing the Bullrushes to hide amongst actual bulrushes and Milkflowers to hide under lillies. Predators often have trouble sniffing for these creatures due to them having the same scent as lilies and bulrush plants.
Farmers in the Dead Swamp raise these creatures for the milkberries that grow on the leafy fur of Milkflowers. Every mating season, these berries bloom to draw the attention of Bullrushes. Farmers must be careful to pick all of the berries off a Milkflower, as the Bullrushes won’t even notice the Milkflower if she’s missing her berries.
A century ago, the populations of Bullrushes and Milkflowers became endangered due to unusually low birth rates. It was discovered that this was because the people were picking every berry off the Milkflowers every year. Today, the population has regained stability due to the efforts of the farmers to make sure that no one picks too many berries off the Milkflowers.
Addendum by Rukk the Farmer: I’ve never raised one of these creatures since I don’t live in the Dead Swamp, but I used to have a friend who lived down there. He warned me that if I ever went to the Dead Swamp, take a close look at the eyes of the Milkflowers before eating one of their milkberries.
You see, there’s these plague affinity look-alikes that have only one difference, that being that their eyes are completely black and soulless. If you eat a milkberry grown from one of these fake Milkflowers, then you could wind up getting really sick! That’s all I know about them, though. Hazel mentioned that there’s more info about these things in books about monsters if you’re interested.
Docile and friendly, these beautiful sea creatures are considered to be among the most graceful and skilled swimmers in Ostaria. They love to play tag and hide-and-seek with each other, happily darting through water faster than a Felthurr chasing prey. Whenever they encounter a Kitter, they’ll cheerfully try to play with them. They can be quite temperamental and are easily distracted, however.
With the ability to hold their breath for up to two hours and withstand temperatures of -400°F, it is no wonder that they are such extraordinary swimmers. Some scientists in the Frozen Wastes have reported that they’ve seen Snowseals dive more than a mile below the surface of water. They use their gemstones to illuminate the dark regions of the deepest parts of the sea.
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Snowseals
For many years, it was believed that the last Snowseals lived at Snowfall Outpost. When Snowfall Peak was transformed into Bitterfrost Peak and the Arcticaries were released upon the world, most of the Snowseals were killed in the resulting chaos. Though their bodies were designed for the cold, they could not endure the fury of Bitterfrost Peak’s unnatural blizzards nor the savage hunger that the Arcticaries seemed to have for them. The Kitters of Snowfall Outpost saved the last remnants of their population and declared the outpost a refuge where these creatures would not be hunted.
Recently, however, hundreds of Snowseals have been discovered in the Frozen Wastes. Scientists have been flocking to this cold region to study the creatures in person. Poachers have attempted to steal some of these newfound Snowseals, but the Snowseals have proven to be capable of defending themselves. Although they are usually quite gentle, they can breathe clouds of freezing air and ice shards when they feel threatened. Some explorers have even started trying to train Snowseals as pets. The fact that they are approximately half the size of a Googator means that Meeps and small Kitters can ride on them. However, the main problem that comes with having Snowseals as pets is that they cannot survive without extreme cold. For now, those looking to have a Snowseal as a pet will have to move to Snowfall Outpost or the Frozen Wastes.
Addendum by Hazel the Librarian: Pagophilus Shimmer, commonly known as the Snowseal, is a formerly endangered ice affinity social mammal. Please keep in mind that when I say an animal is social, I mean that it naturally seeks to be with others and will attempt to form a pack, or flurry in the Snowseal’s case, when it meets others of its kind. Snowseals tend to live in flurries of five to eight. Curiously enough, they do not establish an alpha to lead the flurry, instead relying completely on friendly cooperation.
Every five months, Snowseals shed their crystals. During the week that a Snowseal’s crystals are regrowing, the other members of the flurry do not allow them to enter the water, as they know that the Snowseal could get lost if it does not have its crystals to provide light. To support each other, all members of the flurry stay out of the water until the one who is shedding has regrown their crystals.
The greatest danger to the Snowseal population is not poachers nor weather - it is the Arcticaries. Due to the fact that Arcticaries were created from artificial ice crystals that are similar to the natural ones found on Snowseals, consuming a Snowseal’s ice crystal gives the Arcticary a short burst of energy and happiness. Once an Arcticary has tasted a Snowseal’s crystal, there is nothing that can convince them to not eat more. They will endure anything, including the heat of fire and threat of Felthurr, just to eat another Snowseal.