The Baest Notera: A Taluman Bestiary
The Baest Notera is the most well-known and comprehensive bestiary in the land of Taluma. Written hundreds of years ago by the Lokk explorer Nyklandr Sylvfar, with the help of the legendary Curious Quill itself, it still is respected as the foremost authority on beasts. It accomplishes this by presenting age-old folklore and knowledge of many cultures in the classical taxonomy of the Aymirian people.
The full classification can be found here, but the primary four he developed are:
Fauna - the natural beasts of the world such as birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles.
Monsters - beings that are natural of origin but have some quality that is considered unnatural, either supernatural or paranormal, with unique characteristics unlike the fauna.
Creatures - are similar to monsters but instead of developing naturally they have been bred from another animal or beast or even created outright by the work of mortals or immortals.
Abominations - are beings which have been corrupted, usually by Sezsezkya, beyond typical Taluman natural characteristics, and often inhabit places inhospitable to others.
Follow the bestiary tag to read more about the unique folklore of the beasts of Taluma.
Nyklandr & The Curious Quill
The Curious Quill is as its name suggests, well, curious: in being both odd and inquisitive. It is also fickle. While it has served many wise men—or did they serve it?—over centuries, it seems to make its own decision on who may possess it and its knowledge. When it determines that its owner has become idle, unnspired, or even corrupt; it somehow liberates itself from their possession. It may fall out of a pouch or a wind gust blow it out an open window’ it has been stolen or its owner mysteriously died, it may even change color to be mistaken for a lesser quill and be disposed of.
Nyklandr, a Lokk, never documented how he acquired the Quill, but it's known that its previous owner was Kallakz, a tundra dwarf runeforger from the northern Aarmalan Mountains. Upon possessing this artifact, Nyklandr, already a well-traveled individual, expanded his journeys across Taluma to chronicle the lore of all its creatures. The Quill enhanced his natural diplomatic and linguistic abilities, enabling him to communicate with and understand all beings. He established relations with orcs long before their alliance with humans, gaining significant insights into their knowledge of beasts, which formed the foundation of his expertise. During his time with the Aymirians, he adopted their intellectual and philosophical methods of classification, applying their taxonomy to the diverse types of beasts of which he gained knowledge.
As he approached the twilight of his years, Nylkandr eventually settled near the city of Gaddahy, which would become Gaithewaite. After his death, the whereabouts and activities of the Curious Quill became shrouded in mystery.
