#summoner saga

[dwollsadventures]

Monster Manual - Catoblepas

Eugh… I’d really rather not write this. I thought the scholars were exaggerating when they said it had “no redeeming features”. After a week following these horrid beasts around, I cannot help but concur. Hopefully the smell of this monster will leave my tunic one day.

--

Well, that's rather uncharitable for Lias. He must have not liked the catoblepas very much. Thankfully the anonymous author of Summoner Saga has more to say. (This is one of the few times that the Monster Manual and Summoner Saga project will cross-over, purely due to coincidence):

Catoblepas

(Hellenistic Natural Philosophy)

Joining the basilisk and gorgon as creatures who can kill with a look is the catoblepas. This medium-sized bovid inhabits flooded grasslands and swamps in the sub-tropical regions of Palet. Covered in a mixture of scales and patchy fur, its legs are short and ungainly, mismatched in size. The head of the catoblepas is attached to a long, thin neck which perpetually bows down. They spend their entire lives looking at the ground, snuffling for grass and herby plants like a hog. Along the neck is a mane where each hair has a stiff root attached to the neck. When needed, the catoblepas can tense its neck, causing the hairs to suddenly raise, exposing its hideous face. Whereas basilisks and gorgons petrify their victims, those who see the catoblepas suffer brain hemorrhages upon witnessing it. If that wasn't enough to keep creatures away, catoblepas also feed heavily upon a certain poisonous herb. Immune to the toxins, they allow the fumes from the herb to collect in their foregut. If the threat of their gaze isn't enough to dissuade a predator, the beast can also belch up this toxic gas. Unsurprisingly, catoblepas are solitary, lonely creatures. Mating is a rare event and they have few parental instincts, leaving calves to fend for themselves after they're weaned. No other creatures reside where a catoblepas makes its home. The only companion the grotesque creatures have are a swarm of blind parasites evolved especially to feed upon the catoblepas. With short limbs, a thin tail, and no companions willing to groom them, they suffer the presence of these freeloaders in quiet rage. 

-Habitat: Wetlands in the sub-tropics.

[dwollsadventures]

Summoner Saga - Beelzebub

(Renaissance)

The king of the flies is a mostly faithful recreation of the Dictionnaire Infernal woodcut, because it is an iconic look. I decided to modify it a bit to make it more fly-like, as the original is more of a hymenopteran rather than a dipteran. Rather than stinging, these demons bite.

[dwollsadventures]

Summoner Saga - Nemean Lion

(Hellenistic Mythology)

I’ve decided (retroactively) to start the Hellenistic creatures off with the relatively normal ones. Those that resemble regular animals for the most part. Which brings us to the Nemean lion, a normal lion with invulnerable skin. Only its own claws (or the claws of another Nemean lion) can so much as scratch it. Because of that, I gave it a smug face.

[dwollsadventures]

Summoner Saga - Behemoth

(Abrahamic)

From the smallest creature I've drawn for the monster manual to one of the largest of summoner saga's! The behemoth has traits from various megafauna, including rhinos, hippos, bulls, and sauropods. My art-style isn't helpful for really detailed drawings, but I tried to imply how textured and greebled with the behemoth's skin is.

Also, if you couldn't tell, I reached the end of my back-log with the last and will be uploading these as I finish them now.

[dwollsadventures]

Summoner Saga - Ancient Serpent

(Original)

These require some explaining. In the evolution Christianity, there was some ambiguity around the concept of Hell. One of its predecessors was the Abyss, or in Hebrew, Tehom. This was an unfathomable void which existed before the creation of the world. In my interpretation, a soupy mess where all the elements of creation mixed together in a boggy quagmire. Later, when the modern concept of Hell was established, some demons were given the title of marquis. A marquis, in the late Middle Ages of Britain, was equivalent to a count whose territories were along the marches or borderlands of the kingdom. The final ingredient of this creature is the relationship between the Hebrew God and serpents. Early references place God in a serpent fighting role similar to Marduk, Baal, Ra, and others. This conflicts with the later interpretations of creatures like the Leviathan being creations of God. Why would an omnipotent deity need to struggle against something he himself created? 

All of these combine into my creation of the ancient serpents, whose name also has biblical precedent. These are beings which existed before creation, knowing no master. They are mindless, savage beasts who exist only to fight, eat, and reproduce. While part of the Abyss they call home was used to make the world, the Abyss is infinite and unending. An unfathomable marshy expanse filled with warring serpents. When the fallen angels were cast down into the Abyss, they immediately set about creating the country of Hell, building walls to keep the dreadful serpents out. Some demonic nobles are “gifted” the position of marquis, and tasked with keeping the serpents from battering the walls down and invading Hell. While technically unable to kill the incorporeal shades and eternal spirits of demons, they can still cause massive damage. A war against the serpents would be a fruitless task; no matter how many are killed, more and more would show up in their place.

The designs were inspired by the oldest depictions of Mesozoic life, especially the ghastly front piece of The Book of the Great Sea Dragons by John Martin. 

[dwollsadventures]

Summoner Saga - Yale

(Hellenistic Natural Philosophy)

The yale (or eale (or centicore)) is notable for its horns which it can maneuver in any direction. Despite having these impressive horns, yales also have jaws like boars. Perhaps these are used for prying tough material to eat, like wood or rooty vegetables. They’re also described as having the tails of elephants, which I just remembered are super long wtf

Yales are described as either black or tawny by Pliny, but also are depicted as having spots in heraldry. I split the difference by making them have sexual dimorphism. Also they’re the size of hippos which seems like a horribly important detail that doesn’t get much of a spotlight.

[dwollsadventures]

Summoner Saga - Amalthea

(Hellenistic Mythology)

This is the goat of Amalthea, the nymph who raised the infant Zeus on Crete. She would also go on to supply her horn for the cornucopia and her hide for his aegis. Most versions of the story depict her as no ordinary goat. Pseudo-Eratosthenes said she was the daughter of Helios and one source said her horns produced ambrosia and nectar. In Summoner Saga she is a support-type with moves and an ability based around healing and sacrificing herself for her allies. Physically she resembles a kri-kri, or Cretan ibex. 

(Also shout out to anyone who’s read the Chimera’s Curse).

[dwollsadventures]

Summoner Saga - Gryphon

(Hellenistic Natural Philosophy)

Low-key I really like gryphons. I don't even really know why. They're not particularly inventive or fantastical creatures. Just an eagle and lion smushed together. Something about them captures my heart though. 

The first two are classical Greco-Roman gryphons, complete with lion bodies and reptilian crests. The first is a more subdued, natural coloration, while the second is based on the combined accounts of their coloration from Aelian and Ctesias. The third is a more medieval style gryphon in a heraldic pose with similarly evocative coloration.