The Sprii: Too Cute to be Called a Monster

Musings by Illona Torok

Monster Summary

• Size: Range from frog to pony sized
• Motivation/Temperament: Adorable
• Preferred Environment: Most climates, particularly fond of sunshine
• Prevalence: Few
• Danger Level: Sprii pose no direct danger, but harming one is said to bring curses.
• Attack Description: Some sprii possess sharp teeth or claws, but they are hesitant to use them in any meaningful way.
• Monster Core Size and Appearance: An extremely small pearlescent core, ranging from the size of a grain of rice to that of a pea, with an iridescent shimmer that shifts based on their diet and given attributes. The core is embedded in the creature’s skull in the center of their forehead.

When one hears of the Sprii, they’ll often think of the rare creatures as the companion of choice for nobles across the continent. Folks that are lucky enough to have seen a Sprii in person would know of these critters as the endearingly adorable animals with ornate coloring and details that match the crops in their surrounding area. The one thing that seems to catch everyone off guard when they hear of the Sprii, however, is the fact that they are technically monsters.

Life Cycle

Despite their enchanting appearance, these smaller creatures are technically a hybrid of a monster and a plant, starting their lives by hatching from an egg that results from a seed in extremely congruence-rich soil. The origin of the very first Sprii is still unknown, but now just about any Sprii can reproduce asexually by planting the seeds of the fruit they grow in the most congruence rich soil they can find. These creatures are extremely rare, however, with only one offspring every couple years. The other seeds that are planted act as normal crop seeds, growing whatever fruit stems from the Sprii itself.

When first hatched, the Sprii can take a variety of different base shapes. The few that I have heard of are the flier*, the grazer*, the attendant*, and the amphibic*. For the first few months of their life, they assume this basic shape and graze on the plant life surrounding them. Once those first few developmental months have past, the Sprii will start to favor one food over the rest, and will predominantly eat said crop due to its preferences. Once a preference is identified and consumed in higher quantities, the Sprii will start to take on attributes of this favorite food over the course of the next three months. Once they reach a full year of age, a sprii will start to sprout its very own fruit, these fruits being completely edible and sharing almost identical qualities to the crop that the sprii’s attribute was based off of. The only difference between them is that if a sprii willingly offers you some of its fruit, it is considered extremely lucky.

Sprii as Companions

The Sprii are small creatures by nature, even the grazers having smaller stature to some of the other grazing animals that they could be compared to. This makes them ideal pets and companions to the lucky few who are able to locate and rehome them, as domesticating the adorable creatures is an easy enough feat if you feed them well enough.

Due to their varying nature and flexible tastes in their youth, Sprii are capable of surviving just about anywhere in the continent other than the blighted lands lands. That being said, the little critters are particularly fond of sunshine and can be found basking in the warm glow before taking a well deserved nap. It’s awfully difficult being that adorable, you know.

Technically Monsters

If you’re wondering what about these darling creatures makes them monsters, you’d be asking the same question I did when I first learned about them. The answer is their congruence core. An extremely small pearlescent core, ranging from the size of a grain of rice to that of a pea, with an iridescent shimmer that shifts based on their diet and given attributes. For those that are really curious, the core is embedded in the creature’s skull in the center of their forehead, where some believe to be a spiritual center of sorts… but I must warn anybody out there disturbed enough to try to find one for themselves, only misfortune comes to those that choose to hunt a sprii. They are gentle creatures by nature, often choosing to run from a conflict or a threat, rather than fighting, and are the only monsters I’ve ever heard of that choose to do so. It is taboo in many cultures to strike a sprii down, even the Ion’cavar knowing better than to endanger them. I’ve even heard rumors that those who willingly harm a sprii are cursed, and I’d like to offer a heartfelt thanks to whatever Divinity made that so…

If you ever find yourself lucky enough to encounter a sprii in your day-to-day, I encourage you to cherish that moment. I will never forget the first little watermelon amphibic I came across, and I find myself thanking the Twins a little extra for that cutie every day.

*Writer’s Notes:
The Flier: Avian in nature, capable of flight
The Grazer: Think goats, sheep, or very small cows
The Attendant: Cats, dogs, and foxes
Amphibic: Frogs, lizards, and snakes