The stuff that exists within, around, and between all things, it has

been called many things in different cultures and times, but today it’s

most commonly referred to as aether, quintessence, or essentia, and

sometimes shortened to quintus or essence. A very old term, atoms, has

largely fallen out of use.

When aether is collected into a physical form, it is called a aetherite

(metal), aetherium (crystal), or aetheron (gasses, liquids, and gels).

Sometimes the metal is called aethril, in homage to Tolkien’s mithril.

Artificial beings created by magic — simulacra, golems, gargoyles, and

the like — who have gained a significant degree of intelligence and

consciousness. They are capable of acting independently and even

refusing the orders of the makers.

Storage containers that are manipulated with dimensional magic so that they can hold much more than should otherwise fit inside. Similar magic can be performed on physical structures, as well.

Although Creaturae use regular money, they also have their own form of currency, called lux. Lux is aether, or quintessence, given a tangible form. The value of lux is determined by how much aether is infused into the currency, or how many lumens it holds.

At the lowest levels, metal currency is used in the forms of coins and small plaques. The metals used are copper, silver, electrum, gold, platinum, and aethril. For values beyond a single aethril coin, aetheron and aetherium are used.

Creaturae in the modern era even have their own banks and can get personal bank cards, although physical currency is still widely used.

A common tool for channeling magic, wands (and staves) are usually designed to perform one or more specific feats of magic, rather than being an unrefined focus for any spell a Creaturae might want to perform. Those kinds of wands do exist, but they are far less effective, providing very little in terms of enhancing casting as anything more than an implement in structured magic. Wands are (almost) never sentient and (almost) never choose their wielders.

A less significant version of dedicating a talisman, this mystic process still forms a kind of bond or connection between a Creaturae and an item with magical qualities and is particularly useful as a minor security measure for restricting ease of use to others.

The collective dreamspace of living beings. Direct contact between individual dreams is exceedingly rare and difficult to accomplish intentionally.

A physical transformation drakus undergo when the essence of their past and current incarnations fully integrate with one another.

An elven ritual in which specific, personal memories are removed,

allowing them to experience life as an entirely different person with a

completely fresh perspective.

A talisman is an object that has had a magical connection forged between

it and an individual. Dedicating a talisman to an individual generally

allows them to conceal or store the item in a mystical marking somewhere

on their body for later retrieval and use.

One of the more formal catch-all terms for sentient beings with some

supernatural aspect to them. Magi, tending to be the most pretentious

and snooty of all non-mundane peoples, sometimes make a distinction

between themselves and Creaturae with some specific heritage or source.
Other

common terms mostly reference the historicity of the Creaturae, and

include: bygones, eidolons, holdovers, praets (short for

praeternaturals), revenants, remnants, and relics.

Also known as the Drakon Society, Ordo Draconum, and other names, it is

an ancient secret society whose members are imbued with the essence or

soul of dragons. It is led by three individuals, the Triumvirate of

Flame, which consists of the Primus Draconis, Cordus Draconis, and

Animus Draconis.

The term, both singular and plural, for individuals who are imbued with

the essence or soul of a dragon, whether one that has lived past lives

or newly formed.

The four relatively simple laws that govern the behaviors of various

individuals and factions in the hidden world of the Creaturae.
These laws are:

• Death is a loss to us all, murder the greatest theft.
• Thy essentia is thine own.
• The secret must be kept.
• Time is inviolable.

When it is thought a new Primus Draconis has been discovered, they are

required to perform three tasks to either fully awaken to their nature,

demonstrate beyond refute they are the rightful heir, or both. These

three tasks are commonly referred to as escaping the vault, entering the

depths, and retrieving the sceptre.

An independent organization that enforces what few laws have been adopted by consensus as affecting all Creaturae (see: Four Pillars), regardless of origin or affiliation.
The

Vigiles was formed as a new order of magi, unprecedented because it

accepted other Creaturae into its ranks, in the early eighth century in

Constantinople. The Vigiles has undergone two major Reformations since

its inception, one in 1453 establishing the Vigiles as fully independent

of all other factions and again in 1690 when the current Third Pillar

was introduced.

One of the most diverse classifications of Creaturae, a chimera is

anyone who is descended from a variety of different beings who had a

composite of animalian features. Griffins, manticores, and sphinxes are

some of the best known and most common subtypes. Chimera are rarely able

to shapeshift and are usually clearly marked by their heritage.

Dragons, or drakus, are perhaps the least like their legendary

counterparts of all the Creaturae. They possess immense strength,

tremendous resilience against physical harm, and potent magical skills

and resistances, but they aren’t dragons. Not in the literal, flying,

serpentine sense. Drakus may have been able to take on such forms in the distant past, but it’s so unknown to them now even they’re not sure about that.

One of the most ancient races of Creaturae, elves have historically been

very different from the modern conception of them. They are generally

quite tall, ranging from seven to nine feet, and very thin. Their faces

are more narrow and angular than most humans, with slightly larger eyes,

and a row of sharp teeth, similar to an alligator or shark.

Once a deeply-isolationist people with an insular culture that

interacted only sporadically with dwarves, a long history of being

caught up in wars between people building ludicrous strongholds in the

mountains and forests where they made their home convinced them they

couldn’t stand apart and survive. Although most goblins maintain strong

ties with their clan even today, they are much more cosmopolitan and

have completely reversed direction. They do a great deal of work as

political mercenaries — oppo research, diplomacy, mediation, espionage,

and influence peddling are the bread and butter of the goblins, now.

Mages, shaman, sorcerers, warlocks, wizards, and any other term that

might describe a wielder of magic. This term is most commonly used to

refer to normal humans who have discovered how to perform magic in any

of a variety of ways. Less often, it is used to describe structured

organizations of magi who share similar worldviews, philosophies, or

styles of magic. They account for the bulk of praeternatural beings in

the world, if you exclude largely non-sentient things like basic spirits

of nature.

Powerful nature spirits, all nymphs are female and are connected to some

very specific aspect of nature (a type of tree, a specific biome,

etc.). They have a limited range of shapeshifting, generally their human

form, their more natural form, and various stages in between.

There is a greater diversity of vampires than most people would think

and their differences range from superficial to fundamental, but there

are some traits almost all vampires share. They empower themselves by

taking from the essence of others, although how this is accomplished and

the impact on the victim can differ greatly between one type of vampire

and another. Some are hideous monsters while others are almost

indistinguishable from humans. Almost all vampires are significantly

stronger and more durable than humans, able to move with superhuman

speed, capable of shapeshifting into animals or insects. The most

impressive and frightening power of vampires is that a number of them

can influence the minds of other people in varying ways, which is among

the rarest and most difficult forms of magic in existence.

Hidden paths in the mundane world only accessible to Creaturae. They are

often small, unobtrusive, and underground, but in certain cities can be

quite large.

Also

called the hidden borough, the sixth borough, or the underworld,

Ekwiyakink is a series of interconnected subterranean settlements

inhabited mostly by goblins and orcs, but with a decent share of

dwarves, gnomes, and others.
The name is an anglicized form of a Lenape phrase “èkwii hakink,” which translates to “under the ground.”

A hidden marketplace catering to the Creaturae. In Manhattan, it is located beneath the East Broadway Mall in Chinatown under the Manhattan Bridge with a public access point in a tiny bookstore tucked away on a lower level of the mall.

An awkward, nerdy cubicle drone, Aaron was the quintessential example of

someone failing to live up to their so-called potential. After a year

of poor self-care, he discovered he was the inheritor of a legacy in the

Drakon, an ancient secret society whose members are imbued with the

essence or soul of dragons.

A quiet, demure, perhaps even unsure young woman, Alice is more than

just a dreamer, she has an amazing natural talent with oneiromancy — the

magic of the dreamscape. Burdened and blessed by an irremovable glamour

that makes her seem especially attractive, that combined with her

bombshell good looks provide her no end of opportunities for trouble

(and fun!). She has been with the Drakon for almost a decade and has

spent much of that time developing her mastery of dream magic.

Warm in demeanor, Barrett gives off a vibe that is patient and wise,

basically a kindly grandfather figure. But he is much more than he might

seem at first glance — the thin and elderly black man is a seasoned

combat veteran of the Vietnam Conflict and a cunning tactician with a

deep interest in history.

Slightly stooped with age and seemingly frail, Ezekiel Mallory is a

surprisingly vigorous old man who leads the more magically-inclined wing

of the Drakon. He is a bit out of touch with the times and a bit

irascible, but his knowledge and dedication contribute greatly to

keeping the Drakon from sliding into a position of irrelevance in the

world of the Creaturae. For more than two centuries, he single-handedly

convinced each successive Cordus Draconis to stay true to the vision the

last Primus Draconis had, no matter how incomplete their understanding

of it might have been.

If snark took the form of a person, and that person could fit into a

k-pop girl group with a mid-90s aesthetic, then you added a brain that

would give any great thinker a run for their money, you’d have Tia

Kellogg. Tia is a post-grad student at Columbia University pursuing a

double doctorate in philosophy and anthropology.

Short, scruffy, and squirrely, Albert is one-third of a trio assigned to

protect Aaron Abrams. He has a wheezy laugh, a dark sense of humor, and

a tendency to ramble about movies.

Gregarious and goofy, Griffin is a font of puerile humor. Dick and poop

jokes, bawdy limericks, or even farting for a laugh — that’s Griffin.

Tall, burly, and sporting sideburns and a horseshoe mustache, he can get

mean when he needs to.

If you’re striving for professionalism, but your coworkers are

consummate dipshits, it can be frustrating. Even if she likes her

colleagues, she can’t help being sassy (and sometimes pushy) with them.

She tends to be a hard-ass, but usually it’s because she’s trying to do

what’s right by others — or she’s looking for an argument to entertain

herself.

Kicking ass and taking names is Aaliyah Dean’s middle name and she’s a

little pissed at her parents about it. That’s Aaliyah in a nutshell —

she’ll crack a joke then get pissed at you for laughing if she feels

like it. She’s a no-nonsense, take-charge kinda woman and she

investigates major infractions for the Vigiles Creaturae. She has a bit

of a mischievous streak and it’s not unheard of for her to play small

pranks.

Eresthanon is an elf who has just started a new Cycle — a kind of

personal “reincarnation” accomplished through a mystic elven ritual. He

is pragmatic, sensible, and enjoys comfort, but isn’t ostentatious or

flashy. He has a deep dedication to his principles and the rule of law.

Cut from the same cloth as many rival detectives (who are also

pricks), Dylan and West are two of the investigators in the major case

squad of the Vigiles Creaturae in North America. If you want a rough

idea of the dynamic they create, either because they want to be that way

or (more likely) just because they’re assholes, see Martin and Fosse in The Other Guys or the Andies in Hot Fuzz.

A squat, fat, mean old woman whose sense of fashion suggests the

strictest librarian in a movie made in the 80s but set in the 50s, Enid

runs the Cage, an impressive security barrier between the outside world

and sensitive areas of the Vigiles Creaturae headquarters in New York.

Ivy is a rare specimen, especially outside of the Mediterranean, as she is one of the few active kissiae, a nymph of, fittingly enough, ivy. She handles administration for the major case squad of the Vigiles Creaturae in New York.

Khaldun is a Praetor of the Vigiles Creaturae and the chief of

operations for the police organization in North America. He is a

descendant of sphinxes, with the haunches of a lion and the wings of a

falcon.

The quartermaster of the Vigiles Creaturae, at least at their New York

branch office, Stugrond is a dwarven master smith who is nearly as

talented in using weapons as he is in creating and enchanting them. He

is serious at times and playful at others, but is a generally boisterous

fellow.

The front desk receptionist at the Vigiles Creaturae headquarters in New

York, Trey is a flamboyant, feisty, and flirtatious fop who is so camp

he borders on being a log cabin in the Montana wilderness.