Societas Natura Myrland

Unknown A:eD or AD

Bakti library.

Beatel

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This book has been written, edited, and commissioned to be printed by the Societas Natura Myrland, whose headquarters may be found in Tindrem.

Other auxiliary branches include those found in:

Meduli, headed by Marios Nearos

Fabernum, headed by Roburo Castellina

Hyllspêia, led by Karan Obelsyn

Contributors include:

Basilia Amata, Naturalist and Author

Oyuun, Tracker

—

Few creatures strike more immediate fear when speaking their name than that of the celaeno. Despite their infamy, however, seldom little is known about these gargantuan creatures of the night. With a great deal of anxiety about my endeavor, I took it upon myself to set out and find this elusive creature.

Celaenos are nocturnal creatures, and based on information gathered from autopsy, they share similar internal structures to bats. In this sense, the celaeno is to the common bat what the terror bird is to the songbird. A giant, vicious, flightless form.

The intelligence of such creatures is of question and great debate. As with any creature that might inspire such fearsome tales, there are stories that would imply them to be highly intelligent beings capable of planning and malice.

You may rest easy as it would seem they are nothing of the sort.

—

Celaenos are solitary, nocturnal creatures that may be found in caves or other enclosed, dark spaces during the day. It has been observed that they are often near what we naturalists may call a “cauldron” of bats, which is to say a large group of them.

These cauldrons benefit greatly from the presence of even just one celaeno, though exceptionally large groups of bats may see multiple within the same space. “What role does the celaeno play?” You may wonder. The answer is dragging meat back into the cave for the other bats to eat.

While this benefit is surely not one-sided, as the celaeno seem to seek out cauldrons to live amongst, we have yet to uncover the exact benefit. Some have some rather outlandish and grotesque theories based on the levels of guano in caves with celaenos in comparison to those without celaenos.

The creatures are exceptionally light, likely owing this trait to their shared ancestry with flying creatures. This trait allows them to be talented climbers and to sometimes seem as if they are gliding through the air as if propelled by some unseen force when leaping and lunging.

Perfectly built for hunting prey in a forest, mountain, or even an open field.

Another phenomenon that may be observed in connection with the celaeno is their participation in the often short- lived 'great cauldrons'. Such congregations of many, many chiropterans are not only the stuff of legend: they have also been observed directly. The formation of one requires a very specific set of conditions to take place, including a very large space for the creatures to inhabit, ample food nearby, and insufficient competition to prevent them from starving.

These 'great cauldrons' typically break apart once there is a shift in their dynamics, such as an overpopulation of nonreciprocal species that benefit from such colonies.

—

Though they can be found most anywhere, my own studies centered in the abandoned mines of the area south of Meduli. With me was Oyuun, a Gákti Khurite tracker and huntsman, who assured me that he had located a nest.

Oyuun's methods were atypical in comparison to the Tindremic hunters I have become so very used to. There is a certain connection to the land that his people have from years of wandering the wilds of western and southern Myrland that few can deny.

When we reached the area, he instructed me to carefully follow in his footsteps and not make a sound. I must admit that in the dying light of dusk it was quite hard to ascertain where he had stepped.

Laying down at the very edge of a cliffside, he instructed me to lay my torso on the ground as he did. All we had to do then was be silent, and watch. The scent of some pouch he had opened was offensive to my nose and distracted me a great deal, but he assured me that it was to cover our scent from the creature.

Long after the sun fell, I saw the silhouettes of both large and small bats flying from the opening to the mineshaft in the moonlight. I could not tell if they were adults and juveniles of the same species or different kinds of bats, but something about the sight sent shivers down my back knowing what would likely emerge soon.

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