The nine types of Aelf, ranked by threat-level, from lowest to highest:

1. Liliskur
2. Raccitan
3. Uardini
4. Mythidim
5. Legionari
6. Collosi
7. Ushum
8. Demidivines
9. Uult

Below are described each of these categories and examples thereof.

Liliskur– Sometimes called “Worms” due to this category’s including only non-sentient and (relatively) harmless species.

• Chernoboggle – Barely even a nuisance, chernoboggles are minuscule parasitic creatures that feed on the dreams of humans and, sometimes, animals. Long believed to be myth, the existence of chernoboggles was proven in 1778 in what has been called the first-ever sleep study.
• Filcher – Prehensile-tongued, many-limbed creatures with a penchant for pilfering jewelry and other portable metallic items. The filcher derives sustenance from metals, consuming some unknown component thereof (and, in the process, rusting and degrading the material itself). Studies have yet to show how this occurs—or what, exactly, the filcher is “eating.”
• Jittuch – A mysterious creature native to the Revoscape, appearing in our world only while it is asleep. Since capturing a Jittuch before it wakes (and returns to the ether) is nearly impossible, only one successful study has been conducted on them. The Jittuch are furry, glowing white “worm clusters.” Each cluster is believed to number between ten to fifty of these “worms,” all of which share a single consciousness and body-sense. They move in perfect concert, a fact proven time and again by how quickly and synchronously they disappear from our plane of existence.
• Ka’a’tee – Commonly known as “Katy Tears” because of their distinctive mewls (“Kay-tee, kay-tee”), the ka’a’tee evolved over the centuries to appear nearly indistinguishable from feral cats. Their harmless appearance provides them a significant advantage when hunting their preferred prey—cats and dogs. The fur of a ka’a’tee is most often black or orange, leading to a great deal of superstition concerning breeds of actual cats bearing the same coloration. The most notable feature of the ka’a’tee, however, is its ability to teleport across short distances—between one and thirty feet—allowing it to quickly climb or escape even the most treacherous areas with ease.
• Marlok – Known for their strong herd instincts, when spotted in the wild, the marlok can frequently be seen migrating in a wedge formation—safety in numbers.
• Pevool – A rainbow-colored, shiny-plumed bird, long extinct. Historical record indicates the pevools’ temperament was unusually effervescent for a species of Aelf.
• Vippersnüp – Winged, omnivorous, meerkat-like. Most frequently sighted in larger human towns and cities, especially those of the northern hemisphere and on the waterfront, these creatures scavenge human offal, and they are able to metabolize everything from banana peels to plastic containers.

Raccitan – This category belongs to the small-to-medium-sized pack-hunters and other dangerous Aelf-fauna—be they clawed or spiked, flying or land-bound.

• Einharthrak – A white-furred dire wolf native to icy mountaintops. Fire is its principal weapon against its rivals, its prey, and its frigid environment. With its lightweight skeletal system and flying-squirrel-like skin flaps, the einharthrak can also glide from rock to rock. Because of the relative flimsiness of its bones, this beast hunts in large numbers for safety and prefers to run its prey to exhaustion before closing in for the kill.
• Hrilliuk – A dog-sized, rotund herbivore able to launch heat-seeking spines from its back when threatened. In small doses, the paralytic venom coating the darts is non-lethal. However, anyone foolish enough to hold their ground after being pierced by a hrilliuk’s spines will receive a second—fatal—volley.
• Iurk’et – A slow, lumbering beast that walks on four legs, the iurk’et grow to a height of four to five feet. Each of the three “mouths” on its bulbous head performs a specific function: the first ingests and masticates food; the second blasts super-heated steam capable of melting flesh to the bone in under a second; and, the third passes excrement—highly toxic and acidic.
• Hyndun – A legless lizard native to deserts and steppes. A small dose of its venom could kill an elephant in less than a minute.
• Onshorun – The saber-toothed, camouflaging bats found in and around the cavernous reaches of Ozar.
• Quixiil – Two feet tall and beaked.
• Utch-Aharan – Also known as “Kadician war dogs,” these long, lean, and powerful desert beasts are synonymous with Kadician religious iconography of the Grand Dynastic Period.

Uardini – Spirits of forests, mountains, lakes, and rivers, the Uardini are as varied as the natural world.

• Gighifnol – Dwellers of the briny depths, the gighifnol protect their amber or orange exoskeletons with chalk shells—natural armor which they themselves construct. Resembling crustaceans, they have several primary limbs and sets of mandibles, and many smaller “arms” running the length of their abdomens up to their necks.
• Fyarda – Also called “Moon Dryads,” this species was romanticized by Ellish novelists of the Nouveau View Movement. The Fyarda’s popular depiction as noble, melancholic savages takes inspiration from their tradition of ancestor- and tree-worship. They are a unique hybrid of flora and fauna. Accordingly, their offspring are not born but grown. It has, however, been centuries since a Fyardan “budling” has been captured and studied. This fact, coupled with the lack of adult Fyarda sightings in recent decades, has led the scientific community to surmise that this species teeters on the precipice of extinction.
• J’kugn – According to ancient Cantusian texts, it was once common practice for powerful warriors to bind, inside special stone totems, the souls of those they had slain in battle. Carved from living rock, the totems would be placed on their property to protect their homes and families while they were off fighting. Should intruders cross the threshold, the spirits of the dead would awaken, take the form of indigo tigers with red eyes, and fight ferociously until every enemy was killed—or every warding stone was shattered.
• Paoph – Toad-like creatures with flat backs, the paoph stack themselves upon one another for warmth and safety. Native to swamplands, they are fiercely territorial.
• Raea – A species made extinct during the Extermination War. The only hints at the appearance and characteristics of the Raea survive in song and ancient temples. Some stories claimed they were formless air spirits; others provided a far less flattering sketch of lumpy, sightless, squawking chickens missing their feathers—clumsy, oafish things reeking of fish and blood.
• Vlindra – A giant moth-like creature native to the deciduous forests of eastern Kadic. It sheds once per year, its husks sought after for their powerful neurotoxin used in most pest control. Touching the husk with one’s bare hands can lead to hallucinations, followed by a messy death (usually within minutes). A Vlindra that has freshly shed emits spores that cause blindness when inhaled in even trace amounts.
• Yuspinggr – Sentient light beings taking the form of glimmering orbs or, seldomly, humanoid outlines. Frequenting forests, jungles, and bogs, they delight in leading unwary travelers into quicksand and other natural dangers.

Mythidim – Sentient. Terrible. Cruel. Cunning. These are a few of the politest descriptors of the Mythidim.

• Crûb – Preferring to dwell in areas with high yearly precipitation or, failing that, damp caves, the Crûb are amphibious humanoids. They shun sunlight, rendering their flesh milk-pale. Slightly shorter, on average, than humans, these hairless, saucer-eyed creatures have no known verbal language. How—of if—they can “talk” to one another is unclear. Any contact with outsiders involves a complex somatic communication system—hand signs, in which the angle of the elbow and bend of the knee serve as indicators of inflection and emotion.
• Elves – From the Elves, humankind derived the term “Aelf,” which eventually came to be associated will all non-human, non-animal denizens of the world. This was most likely due to the Elves’ being the most visible and cleverest foes of early humanity. The Elves are divided into two subspecies: Iorian (“Children of the Stars”) and Rioan (“Children of the Deep”)
• Lords and Ladies – Animated by an ethereal inner glow, these spirits are “born” in places that have endured a high concentration of suffering and death—battlefields, for example. Also called Widows-grief, the Lords and Ladies may appear as beautiful humans wearing nightclothes or the attire of a noble man or woman, but they are nothing more than hungry sprites feeding upon the echoes of human pain. With their mind-altering magics, these beings are able to naturally confuse and lead astray the careless battlefield historian or graveyard walker. Such field trips often prove hazardous.
• Pycts – The Pycts range in height from seven to eleven inches. Their features are distinct: they have dragonfly-like wings, mouse-like faces, badger-like claws, and goat-like hooves. The males’ fur is most often a shade cobalt or navy blue, while the females’ is silver or gold. The Pycts’ social structure is tribal, each tribe aware of others but entirely self-sufficient. The tribe is typically comprised of between twenty and one hundred individuals. Possessed of a hive-mind, these sentient Aelf have developed a most peculiar trait: if not eliminated all at once (within the hour), any who survive the deaths of their fellows will absorb the psychic and physical energy of the fallen, making them much harder to kill. This variation of the peculiar (and extremely rare) ability known as Egogenesis is the subject of vigorous study and debate.
• Thaal – A subset of Iorians (see “Elves”) that evolved to survive through parasitic Corpromancy, feeding off the blood or psychic energies of their victims (hence the terms Sangothaal and Psychothaal). Some biologists have contended that the Thaal would better be classified as Legionari.
• Ziv Rodoji – A many-tentacled creature, as ferociously intelligent as it is fatal. The Ziv Rodoji is noteworthy for the manner in which its limbs may act independently from each other (and its brain) when entering the state of fight-or-flight.

Legionari – Dangerous parasites and miscellaneous abominations make up this category.

• Chimaerae – The term for those who, although born human, have blasphemously fused themselves with Aelf parts—either through perversion of the arcane or scientific disciplines. Driven beyond all reason by their lust for power, in mutating their bodies, such individuals necessarily forfeit their souls. Thus, they relinquish their humanity—and their right to live.
• Demons – There are as many varieties of demons as there are human sins—Greed, Apathy, Wrath, Vanity, Sloth, etc. Their own name for their kind is “Rel’ia’tuakr,” which translates loosely to “Undermoon and Overstar.”
• Gahool – An enigmatic race, predating the Iorians and the Rioans (see “Mythidim, Elves”). Leading Elemental archaeologists believe that some Gahool ruins are tens of thousands of years old.
• Hybrids – The offspring of tabooed unions of human and Aelf; in academic circles, they are called “Homonculi.”
• Jallantope – Sentient frog people with ape-like, hairless arms. Supposedly the result of a careless experiment by a deranged and power-mad hermit mage. Not to be confused with the paophs.
• Lamiae – Driven to extinction several centuries ago, lamiae possessed the bodies of apes and the heads of serpents. They were notorious hunters and formidable archers: using bows carved from a type of as-yet unidentified wood, they could shoot down a fast-moving target—on starless nights, from impossible distances. Reputedly, lamiae reinforced and strung their bows with human gut string.
• Mil’iggini – Ape-like, brick-fisted, silver- or white-furred. The males sport blue or black stripes on their lower backs.
• Razenzu – An all but extinct, subaquatic species native to the Bay of Caelus and its environs, the Razenzu breathe sulfur rather than oxygen.
• Shifters/Hidelings – Origin unknown, these creatures’ namesakes derive from their ability to magically transform their physicality. Some weave spells of deception and illusion to beguile the onlooker into believing a shape-change has occurred; the more powerful among them are able to actually manipulate bone structure, flesh tone, eye color, hair color, vocal pattern, and much more. Such beings are truly dangerous, insinuating themselves in the unlikeliest places; therefore, wherever uncovered, they have been ruthlessly exterminated.
• Umbrites – Shadow-born shapeshifting parasites, Umbrites are formless while unattached to a host; when feeding, they meld with its shadow. Umbrites survive off the fear of their hosts, and the former stoke this fear through the careful trickling of anxiety directly into the consciousnesses of the latter.
• Xyloph – Typically eight feet tall, these bipedal, muscled feline beasts range in color from black to purplish silver to gray. They are ferocious, terrifyingly strong, and brutally territorial.

Colossi – All those Aelf that are larger than the average city bus but non-sentient belong to this category.

• Dan’yn’daup – Train-sized worms that burrow huge tunnels in the earth. They use the saw-like bony protrusions on their backs to grip rock while navigating the magma-laced chasms miles below the surface.
• Giant – Denizens of the poles, the arctic, and high mountain peaks of the northern hemisphere. The last proven specimen of this mammoth-sized species was slain in 1889 by an anonymous Igniomancer.
• Góra’cień – With a 30-foot wingspan, the scaly, long-necked góra’cień is a carnivorous predator predominantly found in the westernmost regions of El. Early settlers of these territories, pressing ever deeper into the untamed wildernesses of the continent, needed to contend with flocks of these beasts.
• Kraken – Former scourge of the sea trade, in the 2020s, these tentacled monstrosities were hunted to extinction—at a terrible cost in human lives—through the combined efforts of Authority vessels and Gild Aquamancers.
• Lemlar – Also called “cave ape” because its facial features are vaguely reminiscent of a silverback gorilla’s. There, however, the similarities end. The hairless, fleshy lemlar has no arms nor legs but boasts ten muscular tentacles which it uses to navigate its preferred environment—forgotten lakes, deep underground.
• Schildkrahe – A mountain-sized turtle, an active volcano having grown upon its back. Only one has ever been confirmed to exist—on an island in the Suur-al-Swalpan, the Sea of Dreams. It was accidently killed in 2122 by a fracking operation that shattered its shell, infecting its flesh.

Ushum – Included in this category are all those Aelf that are massive, brutal, and sentient.

• Dragons – By far, the most infamous example of this subcategory are the Twin Dragon Kings, H’ranajaan and Ji’inaluud. Together, they ruled over armies of sentient Aelf foot-soldiers and millions of human slaves. From an academic standpoint, their partnership was noteworthy because Dragons were, in every other case, solitary and preferred to keep well away from human beings. After the deaths of the Twin Dragon Kings, Aelfravers spent centuries ruthlessly hunting down and destroying every last Dragon.
• Drualoniok – A species gone extinct during the reign of the Iorian Empire. Details unknown.
• Yuorgith – Same as above.

Demidivines – Ancient, patient, their true natures are often obscured by the erosions of millennia.

• Sevensin – The sole surviving account of these mysterious beings is an old (and dubious) Monraïc legend claiming they were born of the same seven-sourced magic that brought all Aelf into the world.

According to the story, seven Iorian sorcerers combined their dark powers to exterminate all of humanity with one final spell. Seven mystical gates were built and opened, and through these poured legions of Aelf, led by the newly spawned Sevensin.

Each of the Sevensin supposedly bore the face of a man but the hideously deformed and monstrous body of a squid, a hawk, a spider. The last of them faded from history in the earliest years after the slaying of the Twin Dragon Kings.

Uult – Believed by most to be mere superstition, the only evidence for the Uult’s existence lies in scraps of myth and ancient epics.