
Wild Canids
Introduction
This page lists "progenitor breeds" of wild canids. They can interbreed with each other to form mixes and hybrids, and have many sub-breeds underneath their banner that may specify form, coat, patterns, or more. In other words, this list is not exhaustive, and the "standard" designs shown below have a good amount of freedom in color, build, and shape.
These species were born wild and have not been meaningfully domesticated, though tame individuals may exist.
Height Chart
Lifespan: 16-20y
Size: 3'01"-3'08"
Diet: Omnivore
Personality: wary
Intelligence: high
Activity: active
Vocality: often
Ironwolf
Ironwolves are a common sight in plains, savannahs, and flatlands, claiming territories in packs of 10-50 individuals. Packs are hostile to one another, and engage in territorial skirmishes when they come across each other. They are typically led by a breeding pair of ironwolf princes, who make decisions for the pack and birth new pups. Unfortunately, they are often a nuisance for settlements - if a pack claims a town or village as its territory, it will attempt to drive out the locals.
They are characterized by the enormous plates of iron that grow on their bodies, the exact array of which seems to dictate a wolf's primary job. Wolves with thick horns on their head and spikes of metal across their limbs often become 'warriors', patrolling the border of the pack's territory, hunting for food, and attacking threats. Wolves with broader plates across the limbs and back become 'healers', foraging for plants and berries, applying salves to their packmates, and caring for the pups. As wolves age, these plates grow into their bones, rendering them lame - but healers have been seen caring for these wolves as they progress to old age.
The most elusive variety of ironwolf are the princes, who are born rarely. They are marked by a crown of iron on their heads and the loss of a limb or two to iron, making them strikingly metallic. A female and male lead their pack, and will chase away teenage princes, who will go on to form their own clans. They are never found without an entourage, and typically reside deep in the clan's territory.
Ironwolf Examples
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Lifespan: 40-50y
Size: 6'01"-6'11"
Diet: Fungivore
Personality: skittish
Intelligence: ???
Activity: calm
Vocality: rare
Deepwolf
A shy, cave-dwelling species, deepwolves live extended lifespans, picking through caverns and tunnels to find nutritious fungus. They slurp this fungus off the rock with their snouts, which are incredibly flexible. Mated pairs bond for life, and travel their subterranean world together, gliding silently through the darkness side-by-side. They are exceptionally sensitive to light, and do poorly outside of their natural habitat.
Little is known about their social structure, behavior in large groups, or relative intelligence. They are curious, often investigating researcher's clothing and equipment by sniffing it, and are often seen staring for extended periods of time at moving things that interest them. They are easily startled, and can slip into small cave mouths or cracks swiftly to avoid danger, though it is unclear what could possibly threaten them. They seem more comfortable around Underworlders than other races.
They appear to inhale from the front-facing nostrils and exhale from the back-facing. Their skin is mostly smooth, with a small layer of extremely short and sensitive hairs. Their eyes contain enormous pupils, and they will lower their heads to inspect things more closely. Their tails seem incapable of notable movement. Deepwolves have been noted as making soft huffing noises, seemingly to communicate to one another, and rub their snouts on one another's backs.
Deepwolf Examples
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Lifespan: 200-300y
Size: 4'05"-5'02"
Diet: Omnivore
Personality: stoic
Intelligence: medium
Activity: working
Vocality: rare
Timberwolf
Timberwolves are a quiet, reclusive species, preferring to walk their well-troden paths in packs of twenty to thirty individuals. They are nomadic, travelling in predictable loops around the local forests, chasing favorable warm winds. Their shuffling can be heard from quite the distance, marked by the rustling of the trees that grow within them. The color of these trees' bark and leaves is unique to each pack of timberwolves, and is related to the kind of trees that grew where the pack first formed. Many people consider them to be the spirits of trees, and give them a respectful berth.
They are able to control the trees as if they were an extension of their body, using branches to grab onto food and pull it into their mouths. When their pups are born, the back legs are entirely formless blocks of wood. Adults have been observed using sharp rocks and flint to carve the legs into proper shape. Packs are intimate and socialist - timberwolves have been noted to take care of their infirm, helping them during the great walks. When a timberwolf is too sickly or aged to continue moving, the pack will rest at the nearest forest until the individual has passed.
They are skittish around people, and avoid civilizations, with some packs rerouting legs of their walks to avoid settlements. If feeling threatened, the strongest wolves of the packs will form a circle around the weaker members and lash out with their branchees to protect them.
Timberwolf Examples
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Lifespan: 100-150y
Size: 0'09"-1'05"
Diet: Omnivore
Personality: protective
Intelligence: medium
Activity: active
Vocality: frequent
Sun & Moon Kit
Though the two sexes of sun and moon kits are highly visually distinct, they are the same species. Pups are always born as twins, one "sun" and one "moon", and once they have reached maturity, they will leave their parents' territory to seek out a kit of opposing alignment as their mate. Kits mate for absolute life, patrolling their territory together, refusing to separate, hunting together, and raising multiple litters. If two mated kits are separated for too long, they waste away - refusing to eat and sometimes resorting to stress behaviors, such as pulling their fur out and biting their limbs.
They are crepuscular, emerging from dens burrowed into the roots of large ferns to scurry about their territory. When spotting a threat or intruder, they let out a series of yips and both kits will attack as one in a flurry of nips and scratches. They are quite vocal in general, often making noises to one another during patrols.
Many consider them to be somewhat mystical - sun and moon magic made into animals. Their feathers are highly potent and used in various potions, especially for long-lasting sleep aids and calming incense. Despite this, they are difficult to keep in captivity, as their pups cannot leave the parents' territories and find mates of their own - which leads to depression and death.
There are occasional rare sightings of a sun or moon kit without a mate that seems healthy and holds its own territory, but these are few and far between - and often handwaved as simply the mate being sickly or gravid in the den.
Sun & Moon Kit Examples
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Lifespan: 15-20y
Size: 1'01"-1'06"
Diet: Omnivore
Personality: curious
Intelligence: high
Activity: working
Vocality: never
Iceox
Iceoxes dwell in frigid and cold regions, often conquering tundras and taigas alike. Their insulating, waterproof fur keeps them warm even during cold snaps, and is exceptionally fluffy to the touch. Their cute expressions, however, obscure their true nature of mericless hunters. Though they are opportunistic omnivores and will devour anything that seems appealing, iceoxes prefer to hunt small mammals and invertebrates. The lure on their heads exudes a faint Magninium aura, which attracts animals to it - who then meet their untimely fate in the iceox's jaws.
They lack toes on their legs, but possess a rough "foot" that allows for some gripping. This is often used to hold prey in place before delivering a killing bite, or when scaling short vertical cliffs. Iceoxes are capable of climbing trees, especially the tall pines native to their ranges, and sometimes drop down on larger prey to take it down. They are primarily solitary, and only seem to interact with one another during mating season, which results in litters of five to seven.
Though they do indeed possess three eyes, the side two only open during extreme stress, surprise, or fear. Their sprint is incredibly quick, and when startled, they will bolt away to the nearest tree and scamper up it, hiding in the branches for safety. They can sometimes be seen tying branches together to form protective cocoons around themselves while sleeping.
Iceox Examples
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Lifespan: 12-16y
Size: 2'06"-3'00"
Diet: Omnivore
Personality: explorative
Intelligence: medium
Activity: working
Vocality: rare
Stevil
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Stevil Examples
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Lifespan: 9-15y
Size: 0'03"-0'08"
Diet: Nectarivore
Personality: busy
Intelligence: medium
Activity: active
Vocality: uncommon
Vulisfae
Vulisfae are associated with trickery and riddles, often depicted in folklore as preventing travellers from entering their forests until paid in honey or their amusement is fulfilled. In reality, they are reclusive but territorial creatures, occassionally attacking threats that intrude upon them with small bursts of electrifying magic. They are drawn to flowering forests and flit between blooms, feeding on the nectar within. Some vulisfae have been known to consume fungus off of trees, though it is not a staple of their diet.
Each vulisfae's wings have a different pattern, and they will pass down parts of this pattern when they mate. Through adolescence, young vulisfae's wings are pale yellow or white until their pattern emerges at maturity. These wings are used in elaborate courtship rituals involving sky-dancing and erratic wing-flapping when landed, of which both sexes participate in when seeking partners.
The tails of a vulisfae are always multiple in number, and are passed down genetically to their children by the mothers - helping trace the geneaology of vulisfae populations. Some evidence has shown that in courtship rituals, individuals with more tails are preferred by both sexes. The largest amount of fluffy tails a vulisfae has been found to have is a whopping thirteen, though it could not fly and needed to be cared for by researchers.
Vulisfae Examples
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Lifespan: 16-20y
Size: 1'01"-2'01"
Diet: Piscivore
Personality: impish
Intelligence: high
Activity: working
Vocality: frequent
Swimmer's Fox
Swimmer's foxes are aquatic tricksters, often the poster child of the stereotype of the deceptive, clever fox. They are covered in a mix of dense, waterproof fur, and leathery scales - the exact ratio depending on the specific sub-breed. They are truly at home within the water, and can spend hours darting around and paddling across ponds, searching for fishes and clams to eat. When agitated, they make a high-pitched screeching sound, and often begin hopping around erratically in an attempt to scare off the threat.
They covet shiny objects, and will trade clams for things that catch their eyes. These objects are stored in the swimmer's manes or in their dens, which are typically hollowed out of mud near their favorite water sources. Other swimmers will attempt to steal these treasures, which results in a territorial hop-fight. They have dexterous paws, which they use to manipulate tools such as sharp rocks to break open mussels. When underwater, they close their side two eyes and open the convex third, which has protective membranes and better focus vision in water.
They tend to live in small cooperative family groups, but individuals will have their own dens (and hoards).
Swimmer's Fox Examples
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Lifespan: 40-50y
Size: 1'06"-3'00"
Diet: Magivore
Personality: ???
Intelligence: ???
Activity: calm
Vocality: rare
Mawfox
Despite their intimidating appearances, mawfoxes pose no physical threat to the sentient races. Rather, these foxes prowl around woodland areas and grasslands, seeking magic-rich plants, gemstones, and animals to swallow. They feed primarily off of these enormous magic deposits, and if left alone to an area, will drain it almost entirely of magic. They are often considered nuisances for cities and villages, as mawfoxes will erode a region's ability to support flora and fauna, and often have to be relocated. Killing them is difficult - mawfoxes do not reproduce, but instead are born out of the corpses of dead mawfoxes. This cycle can be stopped if the corpse is destroyed or rotted severely before rebirth.
They are somewhat fluffy to the touch and are curious, but docile, allowing for strangers to pet them or interact with them. They can be kept in captivity and fed a supply of gemstones, which is often the best answer if one moves into the area, as it controls their feeding and population. Mawfoxes lack a mouth and most organs, instead "unzipping" at the top maw and digesting prey through acid contained throughout their entire bodies, like an empty sack. They are alert, with large sensitive eyes that see the conceptual plane, enormous ears, and a nose.
Their coloration ranges from deep, almost-black browns, to ruddy reds and oranges, but their eyes are always extremely pale with large pupils.
Mawfox Examples
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