Asakaze fungal stalks

Asakaze is home to thousands of species of fungi and lichens, many of which the Phoenix harvest and for food and chemical compounds needed in pharmaceutical processes. The tall fungal stalks characteristic to the 'forests' of Asakaze live in close symbiosis with chloroplasts or algae. These species have unusually thick hyphal structures that allow them to reach for the skies, their caps and veils shadowing the ground beneath. Eventually these 'trees' reach heights their structure cannot maintain, inevitably crashing down during one of the rainy seasons during which storms engulf the eastern part of the continent.

Other, ground covering species are hosts to methanotropic bacteria that metabolize methane into carbon and energy, their mycelial threads reaching into the decaying matter covering the ground. Many of these diminutive species live in a symbiosis with the taller 'tree' type of fungi, exchanging nitrogen for nutrients.


Otori

The otori or 'great birds' are species of flightless birds are used both as steeds and beasts of burden by the settlers. Living in large herds, the otori roam the woods of the planet, grazing on the fresh fungal growths, using their weight and their large beaks to topple down younger fungal stalks. When the food grows scarce or an opportunity presents itself the otori are more than happy to gobble down a carcass, though they never eat their own for reasons the local ecologists still debate. Growing up to 2.5 meters tall and living up to thirty years the relatively intelligent birds are relatively docile and can be domesticated with relatively little effort. The local farmers live in symbiotic relationship with the giant birds, the samurai and heimin herders keeping the otori safe as they graze in the woods. Every year select young animals are separated from the herd and led to the city to provide the farms with fresh steeds and beasts of burden. The otori are also raised for consumption with every local restaurant serving the gamey greyish meat in one way or another.



Screamers

Screamers are small furry reptiles endemic to Asakaze. Coming in various shapes and sizes, screamers predate on insects, both snatching dragonflies and their ilk from the air as well as using their sharp claws to dig up isopods that live within the decaying fungal stalks. The animals communicate much like birds might do, though instead of beautiful song their cries resemble sound of a knife being dragged across a plate. Timid and reclusive, screamers tend to avoid humans, their shrill calls often the only evidence of their presence.


Drifters

Drifters are massive semi-aquatic reptilian beasts that live along the vast rivers running across the mycotid forests that cover eastern part of the mega-continent. Growing up to 18 meters long and weighting almost eight tons, drifters are the apex predators of the fungal marshes, preying upon fish, aquatic lizards and any animal unfortunate enough to be caught near the riverbanks. Swift and agile, the beast is a good swimmer, using its elongated body to propel itself through water. The purpose of the massive dorsal fin is debated by the local biologists though the massive veins running along its surface indicate that the structure is somehow used to regulate temperature. As drifters are aggressive and well capable of maiming a human in seconds the would-be explorers are recommend to avoid the beast, though luckily its immense size makes it rather easy to spot.

Reavers

Distant relatives of drifters, the carnivorous reavers roam the mycotid forests, preying upon otori and other large lizards, occasionally attacking other, younger reavers. Despite their large size, adults being over four meters tall, the reavers are ambush predators, known to be able to stay still for hours at a time before springing into action, using their long and flexible tails to balance themselves as they chase down their prey. Tiring rather easily, a reaver rarely chases its quarry for long, preferring to seek a new ambush site instead. Many of the older otori birds sport vicious scars under their feathers, a telltale sign of a close encounter with death. While an adult reaver likely considers person a too small to worth its time, the juvenile reavers have been known to attack and kill people and so many of the heimin wear protective charms when they head into the woods.

Rakers

Presumed to be related to the screamers, the rakers are large fur covered lizards large membrane covered wings and large ears. While able to fly, rakers spend most of their time clinging to the fungal trunks, becoming more active during nighttime. As rakers prefer to hunt after twilight, the Phoenix biologists assume that these beasts have a rather poor eyesight and that they use their hearing to locate their prey much like the bats on Rokugan do. While the juvenile rakers pray on smaller lizards such as screamers and scuttlers, the adult rakers tend to hunt otori as the large birds have a relatively poor dark vision, allowing the rakers to home on their prey with relative ease. For this reason the Asakaze farmers despise rakers, usually shooting them on sight and going as far as sending armed patrols to destroy any nests they can find.

Megadon

Megadon are large herbivores that inhabit the plains that cover the central parts of the great continent. Growing up to fifteen meters tall and weighting up to twenty five tons, the adult megadons do not have natural predators, though the mega-predators of Asakaze are known to prey on juvenile megadons. The large but docile megadon travel in small family-groups consisting of an elderly female and her children. The males live in similar groups, though the scientists are not certain how these packs form. While megadon prefer to graze on the tall feather-stalks, they occasionally wander into the mycotid forests.

White Death

Poorly understood and rarely seen beast, the white death is a remote relative of cephalopods, though the evolutionary pathway that has led the creatures to become terrestrial is hotly debated. The strange creature has no proper internal support structures. Instead the animal supports itself with its elastic and hard skin that covers its lower abdomen and limbs. The upper parts of the creature's body are soft and spongy, allowing active gas exchange through thin membranes that cover lung-like structures beneath. The white death is a solitary predator, using its dexterous limbs to climb the tall mycotid stalks, preying on the small birds and lizards. When a suitable animal walks past white death it will spring from its hiding place and fall upon its prey, using its weight to stun its catch before suffocating with with gust of cyanide gas it stores in its ink-sack homologues. Rare and presumed to slowly going extinct, white deaths have been known to attack humans with a heimin or two falling prey to these mysterious hunters every year. The samurai of Asakaze scour the woods surrounding the major settlements, shooting down any and all terrestrial cephalopods they can find.