Bestiary: Behemoths
Behemoths are gigantic, primordial monsters that have existed since the dawn of the world, and typically are or were considered the alpha predator in their home. The lack of competition, and usually a large region (in the sea, underground, roaming plains) to live, allowed them to thrive as such enormous beings. Most behemoths were the first beasts created by the Caelestine after Gwyven, with the lessons learned from her creation, and are themselves the source - by accident or design - of other monsters and creatures. They are as a rule gargantuan in size, the largest beings in their environment, though there are some descendents of behemoths that have reduced in size. Behemoths are dangerous simply because of their size but some have unique features beyond being giant versions of the beasts that followed. A few, legendary behemoths, are so powerful and connected to their habitat that they have power over the environment such as weather or even the terrain.
Behemoth monsters known to still exist in the world includes: ankhegs, behirs, bulettes, dragon turtles, hydras, the kraken, purple worms, rocs, and the tarrasque.
According to the Baest Notera, ankhegs are thought to be smaller kin of behemoths that once roamed the land, the primordial ancestors of insects and are still ranked among behemoths. Behirs and bulettes are not gargantuan monsters but are still gigantic and may have just diminished in size over the ages. Hydras are related to dragons, likely their offspring, but lack features (like wings and breath weapons) that would classify them as draconic and may come from a different extinct reptilian behemoth.
Legendary Behemoths of Taluma
The tarrasques and kraken are two legendary behemoths that are known - or at least believed - to survive. The, or a if there possibly are more than one, kraken recently was fought and defeated—though not thought to have been killed—by the orcs at Ijis Island. The tarrasque is known to be the only one of its kind, the behemoth of all behemoths, currently slumbering until it rises in its once an era swath of destruction triggered by some unknown cosmic event.
These are only two of the scores of legendary behemoths that the Caelestine created but have since been vanquished. It is extremely rare for mortals—requiring the cooperation of multiple armies and./or heroes—to kill a behemoth, instead most were killed by giants or dragons, or the gods themselves in the countless battles of the days before mortals walked Eosta. Like the kraken and tarrasques, these legendary beasts commanded entire regions and could control the very environment around them. One such legendary behemoth was called Vyntroska, an arctic mammalian carnivore as large as a mountain. He had white fur with icy spines and he could control the weather in the tundra around him: calling forth blizzards, creating avalanches and earthquakes, and dropping the temperature by dozens of degrees for miles around him.
