I began with the Skyshower Lake. The calm, bright waters made the trees above a good nesting ground for the Sunglory Hawk, but there needed to be other defenders to guard the bounty and claim lives here and there, feeding me with the Mana-flames of the fallen. Creatures that approached the lake would do so at the risk of their own lives.

For the task I chose the snakes that curled among the rocks, seeking for small prey creatures cornered in their dens or nests full of eggs to swallow whole. It was a lazy, huge thing, with a hide made of hexagonal fragments of bronzed scale all fitted together over an inner black. Its eyes were honey-ambered and almost hypnotic, the hood that cowled its arrowhead skull patterned with intricate diamond-weaves of color to deter predators.

Mana-fires curled around its head like a crown, bringing it to a pause mid-hunt. A hopping mouse gratefully made good on its chance for life and ran away as I made contact with the lazy, idle mind of the serpent. It didn’t seem surprised to meet me. Why should the great spirit of the oasis not take notice of its glory?

The intoxicating smugness of the serpent’s mind was almost enough to lull me into agreeing.

It was a second later I realized what a totally ridiculous thought that was.

Still, I enjoyed the sight of the beast, and its regal attitude. Its ability to spit poison in the eyes of its enemies was certainly a plus. Able to blind larger foes and kill smaller ones, my only worry was how easily a creature with a strong resilience might shrug it off. I wanted a more simple, reliable hunting tool for this beast, one that would enable it to strike down larger foes.

My choice was to experiment with the watercryst. Already, the serpent had a hollow tongue that served to eject poison with a muscular contraction. Now I simple made that tube harden and fill with a coating of watercryst, ready to draw Mana at the creature’s will.

The trick was the tube’s center was far, far too thin for the force at which the water would flow. The result was an explosive slashing spray. I slowly turned its scales from dark, almost honey bronze to a more eloquent shade of sunkissed gold. The whole serpent gained from the simple reinforcement of Mana, growing long and arm-thick, able to comfortably crush to a beast the size of a gazelle to death. While I worked I casually wove in a touch of the lizard's regenerative powers. Just to add a final dash of resilience.

A beast fit to guard the sun's palace.

Goldcrowned Skyshower Cobra

[ Bronze ]

Kingdom Animalia

Age - 6 Years

Physique - Bronze

Arcana - Bronze

Psyche - Unranked

Diet - Carnivore

Biome - Watering Hole

Cycle - Diurnal Radiant in sunlight, this gold-clad serpent's air of monarchy is enforced by a deadly control of magical water, able to form blades that will cut boulders in two. If that fails, it can subdue prey via constriction and suffocation. These twin advantages allow it to lord over the beautiful pools and verdant trees of its domain. Born from the Oasis Dungeon.

Notable Features - Regeneration, poison fangs.

---

It was hard to improve a rabbit. There wasn't much there to begin with that wasn't already perfected. Stringy, lean muscle tensed up in grasshopper-strong legs, a fast-beating heart, a ravenous libido. They were efficient machines for chewing up grass and making more rabbits.

They scattered as Kahlin toured my new lake, pausing in admiration for the little temples that stood at crooked angles from the earth. "Friend, you have a strange mind." He dipped down, tapping a stone-clad finger against the walls. "Strange but beautiful."

He was generous with his compliments as he explored the new lakes; actually, I suspected it was mutual, and he felt equally flattered by the fact I was bothering to impress him with my powers. From one perspective that made sense. I had truly ungodly abilities - so why should he matter? On the other hand, the one thing I could never make was people. The mortal soul was elusive and slippery. I could make human shaped things but they'd only ever be golems of the flesh. No true soul would fill the body.

“You know, with how generous you've been, I'm beginning to think you don't want us to leave.”

Ah. Well. I did want them to stay - and yet, I also wanted them to carry my story outwards, where others could find me. I was fond of Kahlin. Shine-Catch had a terrified, piss-and-vinegar bravery and a willingness to stand by me that was more endearing, but she was a prickly thing who was angry at everything and nothing all the time. Kahlin knew how to make himself liked, and bore himself with an easy confidence.

Still. I'd noticed him working several lines of questions in the way a fisherman works the waters.

He wanted to know where I came from, most of all, and what this enemy was that sought me. His willingness to enjoy my friendship couldn't totally calm a certain paranoia I knew he must feel as he saw miracles performed without any price. A lingering worry that tales of spirits offering great wealth rarely ended well.

“It would be sad if nobody lived here. If all this grew wild and forgotten, alone.” I answered. I'd found a prime specimen among the hares, a buck with a thin ability for magic already. It seemed to be channeling a tiny amount of fairly pure, thin Mana to produce a kind of sixth sense that kept it safe from harm. Not dissimilar to my own sight but incalculably weaker. The concept was interesting. “You've said you're a storyteller, Kahlin. I'd like you to share mine.”

My mind pushed into the hare and gently held it steady, letting me explore the beast's internal world. The senses it gained from its Mana-sight were almost intolerable to its tiny mind. It could only activate them for a short time in moments of panic or the overwhelming vision would become debilitating.

I could use that. I gently adjusted the way its sensory Mana flowed outwards, working at the tiny node of magic stored between the brows. I made it so when the beast was threatened, every living thing within a few dozen feet would suddenly feel and see everything the hare did, in violent clarity. The rabbit, at least, would be prepared. To everyone else the skull-splitting addition of new senses would be crushing.

The beast kicked in my grasp, its consciousness bucking against mine with sudden force. I was surprised a beast would even try to reject my gifts. I was even more surprised to learn why.

With a mental grimace I caved to the completely unreasonable demand - the beast wanted horns. I gave it silver ones inset with faint patterns suggesting glyphs, the first pair curving up to form an almost-completed circle between its brows, a pale and polished circlet of metal that suggested a third eye. Smaller, darker stubs prodded out behind its ears. On a last whim I altered those too, making the once-floppy ears transparently thin and spreading long tubes of spiny bone beneath, so that they resembled the wings of bat. The new bones let the creature flex and stretch its ears expressively, moving them to capture sounds in a particular direction.

Moon-Dream Hare

[ Bronze ]

Kingdom Animalia

Age - 8 Months

Physique - Unranked

Arcana - Bronze

Psyche - Unranked

Diet - Grass and Foliage

Biome - Savannah

Cycle - Nocturnal Incredibly fast, this lean deserts scavenger bears the mark of the moon upon its brow, a sign of wisdom and forlorn knowledge. While it survives using the breadth and depth of its senses, when threatened it can force that same disorienting array of sensations on all nearby in a overstimulating tide. Sometimes even the future can be seen in the depths these debilitating visions. Born from the Oasis Dungeon.

Notable Features - Low telepathy.

I was- slightly worried by the last part of that description. The suggestion that I'd somehow allowed this brash-headed thing to glimpse beyond the veil of time was worrying, especially considering I'd had no such intentions. Perhaps my ability to change a creature's innate use of Mana without relying on tools such as the water crystals was, if not lacking, severely unpredictable. Either way the hare had no intention of waiting around for me to diagnose my missteps.

Kahlin stared with quiet amusement as the beast shivered, pawed at itself behind the ear with one hindleg, and leapt away, chasing after some doe to show off its horns. Actually, I was relieved. The beast seemed to have no clue of its own strength. It really was just clever enough to be shockingly stupid.

“I think...” The old warrior said after a time. “I think I want to know precisely what it is out there, that’s mad enough to pick a fight with you.”