Fireflies
The main work of pollination, what would be done by the world’s absent bees, is the task of Pyron’s fireflies. Nobility and other wealthy members of society often pay exorbitant amounts of money to maintain elaborate “night gardens”, specially designed to maximize the nighttime beauty of the fireflies. These fireflies are covered with a soft fuzz that collects pollen as they move from flower to flower. Firefly nests are commonly buried in the ground, but some species of the insect burrow into trees instead. The glowing effect from which the creatures take their name is a bioluminescence centered on their wings. Fireflies are able to pump chemicals through specialized veins in the wings, causing the wings to light up. These are used to communicate between one another during pollination and exploration. Firefly honey is a delicacy. Pollinating fireflies are eusocial.
Hyenas
Dogs and wolves are not present on Pyron, having been driven to extinction long ago by hyenas. Pyronite hyenas, unlike their counterparts on Earth, possess hooves. Hyenas have never been domesticated, and are often hunted both to protect the flocks of human shepherds and to harvest their durable hides. Hyenas can be found across the whole of the continent, with a smaller and more nimble variety found in the northern forests and a larger spotted variety found in the southern plains. Pyronite hoofed hyenas are aggressive pack hunters, and have hunted bears when other prey is unavailable. Hyenas consume their prey in two parts, first eating the flesh and organs of a kill, and eating the bones at a later time. The consumption of bones is not done for nutrition, but plays a key part in the nesting habits of the creatures. Hyenas consume the bones of their prey, and later vomit up a thick substance made from the partially digested calcium, which is used to create or reinforce their nests. Pyronite hyenas reproduce in a group fashion, with females sharing the tasks of raising the young of a particular nest. Litters of an individual hyena typically number between two and five.
Silk Spiders
Pyronite silk is spun from the webbing of a spider native to the Celanish basin. Silk spiders have been bred over the millennia to produce a web that does not stick to other materials. Spider silk is a closely guarded product and a secret of Celanmoor, and their greatest export. The Nobility across the continent are fond of wearing silk. Silk spiders are highly communal, and will live together in groups up to thousands in number. The silk plantations of Celanmoor cultivate this by growing the spider’s preferred habitat, a particular local tree. The silk spiders build their webs within the trees, often encasing them completely within the silk. A silk spider colony can encase a tree in roughly two weeks, and harvest efforts of the silk is an ongoing task for plantation workers. Silk harvesters must be careful, as the spiders hide egg sacks within the silk nests they create. The spiders themselves are roughly as long as a thumbnail and subsist on a diet of flying insects, including fireflies.
Dogs
While dogs were initially driven to extinction by the hyenas, they have since made a small comeback. Dogs are present in Suri and the Jade Lands and have been returned to the continent by New Myraea, often as exotic pets for the Nobility. The dogs that have returned to the continent are status symbols and jealously protected. Hyenas continue to present a distinct danger to these dogs, and those that are caught in the wild by hyenas often do not survive. The most common breed is a Surese hunting dog with long legs and a narrow body.
Cane Fish
A type of spined fish native to the waters around the Jade Lands. Cane fish are a closely guarded secret of the Jade Landers, who harvest sugar from the fish’s spines. Cane fish require warm, shallow waters to survive. The primary ecosystem of the cane fish is around the submerged volcanoes of the Jade Lands archipelago. The fish are roughly a meter long as adults, and their scales are patterned to blend with the volcanic rocks they make their home in. Cane fish are predatory and eat smaller fish and other sea life that also live within these volcanic shallows. The spines of the cane fish carry a powerful poison capable of killing many predators. The poison is dangerous to humans, but not lethal; the primary danger to humans is being rendered helpless and drowning after being stung. Because the sugar and poison both occupy the spines of the fish, a complex refining process is needed to make the sugar of the fish edible.
Octopodes
The octopodes of Pyron are mostly found along the coastal regions of the continent, with the bulk of their population being present along the inner coasts of the Drowned Lands. Pyronite octopodes are recognized as being quite intelligent and are capable of a rudimentary form of magic. Octopodes are generally seen as a nuisance along the coast of the Drowned Lands, but one that can be potentially dangerous due to their magical abilities, and so better left alone. Octopodes are able to use limited spells from the Elementalism and Travel schools of magic. Commonly, they will create bubbles of water around themselves as they come on shore, and sometimes also create these bubbles around the animals they find. Farmers discovering livestock that have been drowned miles from any water is not uncommon. Octopodes that are confronted will fight by flinging lightning at their foe, and if bored or threatened sufficiently, will teleport back to their home. Some octopodes have been witnessed cooperating with dragons and librarians in the Drowned Lands.
Wasps
Pyron’s wasps are notable for their reproductive cycle. Wasps sting animals and implant an egg beneath the flesh. The larva that hatches from this egg consumes the surrounding flesh to grow before entering its pupal stage. When it’s ready, a new wasp eats and stings its way through the remaining skin before attempting to fly to its hive. Pyronite wasps can be found in swarms, and the remnants of wasp pupae are a common cause of infection amongst humans and herd animals. Wasp nests are often made within the roots of trees. The wasps mark their nests with pheromones allowing newly emerged wasps to find their way home. Adult wasps prefer to eat the flesh of fallen fruits. A common wasp trap involves allowing fruits to ferment, creating a lure for the parasites. Some Pyronites have taken to creating these lures and placing sacrificial animals in a pen near them, so the wasps lay their eggs in the designated animal and do not bother other animals or people in the area. Wasp nests are destroyed when encountered, most often by flooding them.
Striders
A species of large predators once native to the Myraean basin, and currently common across the Drowned Lands and Celanish basin. Striders stand on six stilt-like legs that lift them from the ground. These stilts allow the strider to wade through rivers and lakes to hunt their prey. A strider’s body is thin and elongated. A long tail is used to keep insects, such as parasitic wasps, from bothering the creature. An extra pair of manipulator limbs is present near the head, which helps in eating. The strider’s stilt-legs are segmented and multi-jointed to allow it to more easily bring prey to its mouth. These stilts are encased in keratinous armour. Striders are generally a mottled brown and green colour, to mimic the colouration of a tree. They live in family groups, but hunt solitarily. The primary diet of striders is fish and other small animals that live near or in bodies of water. Although a surprising sight when first encountered, they pose no real threat to humans.
