S-Sk

Salamander Knight

(Elemental)—These are fire elemental warriors. They are human-proportioned, with flaming armor that might actually an integral, chitinous shell and flamberge swords. They are semi-sentient, do not have multiple forms and cannot speak.

Salamander/Fire Newt

(Elemental)—These are traditional fire elementals, male or female, although the female variety is very rare. They possess three forms: a column or wall of living flame; a salamander lizard that lives within flame; or long, lean but convincing humans. They are quick to anger and take offense easily. They are immune to fire, and exposure to fire or great heat revives or heals them. Salamanders are reputed to have no souls of their own, and can only earn one by taking human form and marrying a mortal. This union locks the elemental into their material, human form and grants the human spouse extended longevity.

Salamander/Human Hybrid

(Elemental)—These are slender, light-framed people with a temper that flare up easily, and a resistance to flame or radiant heat injury.

Salman of Knowledge

(Faerie)—These are pairs of nature spirits that swim in wells beneath hazel trees. They appear as black salmon, and reputed to know all mysteries and of the future. If an offering is cast into their well, the fish will speak and give oracular advice. Eating one of these salmon imparts expert knowledge, but a dread curse will descend on people who consume holy fish.

Sea Serpent

(Dragon)—These giants average about 65’ long, with a head about 6’ long, but growing up to 210’ in length with a 21’ circumference. They have slimy, black or green, shell-like scales; white throats and bellies; bony protrusions above the eyes, and a mane-like, membranous dorsal ridge from head to tail. Some have vestigial, paddle-like appendages, and many spout water as do whales. They often follow schools of fish, preying on them. Sea serpents can crush small ships in their coils, and break larger ships with their tails, but they prefer simply to snatch men off the decks and gobble them whole. They undulate through the water and can easily achieve twenty or thirty knots.

Sea Wyvern

(Dragon)—Like standard wyverns, but only about 4’ in length. They swim in schools and, like flying fish, “dive” into the air to harass passing vessels. While skilled at flying, they spend most of their lives in the sea.

Selkie

Functionally, this is a man-seal, much like a werewolf. Often this is a seal cursed to assume human shape, not the other way around. The selkie has three forms: seal; a human-headed seal; or a human.

Sentinel of Argais Leantre

(Artificial)—The words “Argais Leantre” have lost their meaning over the ages, and no one knows their etymology, but tales persist about twelve giant statues that guard Yrdath Island from outside forces. It is unknown if the statues are robotic or magikal, or both, but they are buried at equal points around the island’s perimeter. Legend suggests that these giants automatically will activate and fight if needed. No one knows what the statues look like, and no known drawings of them still exist. Yrdath residents know where the giants are buried, but digging them out would be a monumental task.

Shadow People

(Demon)—Also called umbra, These are sentient shadows, not ghosts, per se’, because they were never human. They also are the unintended side-effect of casting black magic or demonic infestations. They are considered a lower class of demon. These beings flock to dark places that are spiritually spoiled and defiled. “Spoiled,” in this context, are places where horrific events took place, or graveyards, battlefields, and similar, negatively haunted locations. They can speak with hissing voices, but choose not to, and if forced into combat, they can be cowardly and rely on bullying tactics. Shadow people will work in concert as needed, but they prefer to exist in isolation, favoring abandoned or ruined places. When summoned, these shadows usually will comply with simple requests before they eventually lose interest in helping and resume their nefarious ways. They are temporarily de-powered or inactive in bright, well-lighted locations.

Shaollet

(Demon)—This is a type of nightmare that is not merely a horse, but a full-on giant warhorse or destrier. They appear as oversized, oily black, bony-framed beasts with huge fangs, flaming eyes, functional bat wings, and razor-sharp hooves. These are bloodthirsty, viciously aggressive, and will only bear exceptionally evil mortals or demons upon their backs. They are carnivorous and deeply antisocial. They can blow cones of hellfire with their breath, and they fly with great skill.

Simulacrum

(Artificial)—This is an alchemically spawned imitation person, identical in all ways to its source person. Usually, simulacrums and their template human cannot abide each other.

Siren

(Demon)—These are women who sing sweet magic songs to enchant sailors and cause their ships to wreck on the rocks and drown all aboard. The origin of this race is strange—when the Watchers came to Aarthus and grew besotted with mortal human women, the females gave birth to a hybrid race called the Nephilim. It is not known if the humans were innocent victims or complicit in this, but they were punished harshly none-the-less, transformed into sirens, and it became their nature to enchant and murder humans. These beings resettled on the shores, rocks, islands and atolls of the world’s seas and oceans, and there they preyed on shipping and sailors. Some sirens still look like women, although they are well adapted to aquatic conditions and can breathe underwater. Some look like mermaids, and some appear as women with owlish wings, legs and feet. Most sirens are devoted to murder, but a small minority of them seek to reform and change their ways. It is well known that men can protect themselves from siren songs by sealing their ears or deafness. Legend holds that women are unaffected by these creatures’ magic melody.

Skin-Changer

(Unknown)—This is a human (or similar) that can change from one preset form to another. Skin-changers come in a wide variety, including werewolves, selkies, werebears, and wereboars.