Whisperwood Manticore - Manticora sussurivallis
"23 Apąm 1127, Xšaçapavan Širmartiya
Three suns ago, we rode west along the royal road, a small troupe of a dozen and half summers. Our kin waved us off, their smiles beaming with joy, chests full with pride, and brows furrowed with worry. We were to seek the rite deep in the forest of whispers. A Martyahvārah quill, plucked straight from the tail, neck, or prey of the revered beast, is all that allows us passage.
24 Apąm 1127, Xšaçapavan Širmartiya
The village will be envious. Today, we beheld the princely Aswaran. Seated atop regal steeds of black, brown, and red, the riders were as striking as the tales our elders weaved to us as children. They bounded in the direction of the Many Gated City, Saddarvazeh, clad in scales of shimmering brass and bronze, adorned in vibrant garments of the red rich dirt and deep blue sky, the edges traced with elaborate golden patterns, and their great bows and lances adorned with carvings to Ahura Mazda. Trailing them were their many attendants, all richly dressed, their carts full of the fruits of the hunt. Deer, antelope, small game, and birds of all the colors of the earth.
Most magnificent of all, however, was the corpse. A gnarled, plated, bleeding carcass larger than the Shah’s grandest bull. The armored husk had crumpled inward, like a fist of eight ridged fingers plowing the road as they paraded it east, a line of silk trailing from its back. Stuck with many arrows, and three quills that bore resemblance to our elders' tales, even in death, it struck fear in our hearts and laid doubt in our minds.
25 Apąm 1127, Xšaçapavan Širmartiya
We’re almost there. We can see the forest, a mountain high, silhouetting the horizon. By tomorrow's first sun, we’ll stand at the foot of the towering whispering wood, ready to begin the rite. However, murmurs amongst some echo fears of what awaits us within. They speak of snakes and bears, of monsters and shadows, of silkweavers larger than men. Of the Martyahvārah.
28 Apąm 1127, Xšaçapavan Širmartiya
We were so close. So very close. Emerging from the dense mist that enshrouds the lowest levels of the forest, we spotted a deceased great boar with several quills buried in its hide. Luck had granted us this easy win. And yet, as we approached the slain pig, something stirred in the air. A rumble? Or growl perhaps? The very mist rippled, and soon we saw the silhouette of the graceful hunter. It slyly stalked the periphery of the clearing, remaining hidden in the fog. Without a second thought, our spears raised and wits about us, we departed the clearing. We’ll find some other way to clear the rite.”
One of many Manticore subspecies, and rightly feared just like their more famous man-eating cousins, Whisperwood Manticores inhabit the dense, foggy, and often dreary lower canopy and forest floor of the Whisperwood.
Famously lax creatures, rite-seekers can be content in knowing they are unlikely to be attacked even in eyeshot of a relaxed Manticore.
Their quills can grow to be a foot long, with microscopic barbed tips, and act as a delivery mechanism for highly toxic venom produced in nearby glands. Wounds from the quills often fester, severely hampering or injuring prey not killed by the venom.
Their necks and tails contain airpockets that expand, pushing the range of their quills and making them appear larger when faced with threats.
The great trees of the Whispering Woods teem with life, with their density ensuring that their many and varied residents can thrive largely undisturbed.
Although noticeably smaller, Drakeridged Silkweavers often compete with the Whisperwood Manticore for food and territory.
Giant spiders are endemic to the region, many of which branched off into unique sizes and shapes that fill a variety of niches at varying levels of the forest. The middle, a Drakeridged Silkweaver, largely resides on the forest floor.
Although known as 'great boars', the Warajah are, in fact, a collection of endemic giant tapirs. Elusive and unobservable due to their inhospitable habitat, not much is known about them other than their essential role in feeding the many forest predators.
Even the tallest of rite-seekers are towered over by adults.
