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Text File | 1997-10-27 | 137KB | 3,006 lines

# This data file is generated by 'makedefs'. Do not edit. 0000191b aerdrie faenya 0,11 aclys aklys 638,2 *leax 762,4 amat*rasu * 1004,6 *amnesia Maud 1312,19 angel* 1914,12 anhur 2618,7 ankh-morpork 3049,9 anshar 3551,5 ant * ant 3849,4 anu 4061,5 *ape 4330,19 *rchon 5365,16 *shikaga *akauji 6298,24 asphynx 7651,5 horned devil 7947,2 incubus succubus 8043,4 erinyes 8264,2 marilith 8361,5 barbed devil 8644,2 vrock 8740,4 hezrou 8968,2 bone devil 9091,2 nalfeshnee 9211,3 ice devil 9363,4 pit fiend 9581,4 juiblex jubilex 9785,6 yeenoghu 10153,5 orcus 10437,3 geryon 10623,3 dispater 10787,2 *lzebub 10871,3 asmodeus 11032,4 demogorgon 11227,4 athame 11459,5 athen* 11716,15 atlatl 12646,3 axolotl 12785,1 b*lzebub 12819,7 balrog 13222,9 baluchitherium titanothere 13735,9 barbarian 14252,34 basilisk 16111,3 barbed devil 16293,2 *bat giant bat 16385,9 *bee 16889,6 *beetle 17197,6 bell of opening 17513,14 blind io 18043,9 * blob 18570,1 bone devil 18593,2 book of the dead 18711,9 brigit 19177,11 broadsword 19807,5 bugbear 19951,20 *camaxtli 21131,7 s*d*g*r* cat 21542,15 *cat kitten 22518,4 *centaur 22761,17 *erberus kerberos 23781,7 chameleon 24193,11 *haro*n 24861,7 chih*sung*tzu 25254,1 *hromatic *ragon tiamat 25276,16 cockatrice 26266,23 chickatrice 27493,3 pyrolisk 27678,4 cornuthaum 27924,19 couatl 28936,10 cram* 29555,6 *crocodile 29901,5 croesus kroisos creosote 30167,8 crom 30615,10 *yclops 31106,31 *ark *ne 32392,8 demogorgon 32838,4 dispater 33063,2 djinn* 33144,8 *dog pup* 33640,6 shadow wolf 33970,4 mist wolf 34211,5 *dragon *xoth 34508,9 dwarf* 35066,21 earendil elwing 36328,15 eel giant eel 37249,9 elbereth 37752,20 electric eel 38515,5 *elemental 38811,5 ~elf ??m* *elf* elvenking 39119,19 erinys erinyes 40200,2 ettin 40329,2 excalibur 40456,14 eye of the aethiopica 41265,8 floating eye 41706,7 flesh golem 42112,21 fog cloud 43281,8 *fung* 43437,21 *gargoyle 44634,14 geryon 45389,3 ghost 45544,10 *giant giant humanoid 46126,6 ~gnome ??m* gnome* gnomish wizard 46483,13 goblin 47229,10 gold gold piece zorkmid 47770,9 ~flesh golem *golem 48246,18 gremlin 49283,3 grid bug 49454,13 gunyoki 50169,2 hachi 50282,8 heart of ahriman 50768,19 hell hound* 51908,8 hermes 52380,15 hezrou 53307,2 hobbit 53425,10 hobgoblin 54027,23 hom*nculus 55297,13 horned devil 55968,2 *horsem* death famine pestilence war hunger 56060,22 huan*ti 57471,5 hu*h*eto*l minion of huhetotl 57778,6 humanoid 58119,5 human acolyte apprentice archeologist arch priest attendant cave*man chieftain guard healer ninja nurse page *priest* ronin samurai shopkeeper student thug warrior *watch* wizard player 58386,7 ice devil 58798,4 imp 59005,13 incubus succubus 59668,4 ishtar 59881,7 issek 60254,13 izchak 61017,18 jabberwock vorpal* 62211,20 jackal 62851,13 jaguar 63588,4 juiblex jubilex 63810,6 kabuto 64158,19 katana 65321,3 ki-rin 65491,4 king arthur *arthur 65714,23 knight 66938,10 ~kobold ??m* *kobold* 67300,5 *kop* 67574,7 kos 67953,6 koto 68274,1 kraken 68293,8 *lady offler 68759,20 lemure 70113,1 leocrotta leu*otta 70156,7 leprechaun 70551,18 *lich 71574,7 ~* of light * light 72012,3 gecko iguana lizard 72141,9 loki 72677,14 lord carnarvon 73493,8 lord sato 73963,3 lord surt* 74144,9 lug* 74634,8 lurker* 75115,3 lycanthrope *were* 75274,17 magic mirror of merlin 76284,3 mail d*emon 76464,2 ma*annan* 76556,7 manes 76928,2 marduk 77005,10 marilith 77581,5 master assassin 77838,19 master key of thievery 78760,5 master of thieves 79048,11 medusa 79683,22 *mimic 80898,6 mind flayer 81248,6 minotaur 81588,9 mit*ra* 82094,16 *mithril* 82958,6 mitre of holiness 83299,4 mjollnir 83549,14 ~slime mold *mold 84403,6 mol?ch 84742,16 mumak* 85594,8 *mummy 86058,14 mummy wrapping 86814,15 *naga* *naja* 87669,4 naginata 87914,18 nalfeshnee 88878,2 nalzok 88998,7 neanderthal* 89408,3 newt 89590,13 ninja-to 90046,1 *norn 90071,14 nunchaku 90835,1 *nymph 90855,23 odin 92169,22 ogre* 93410,16 olog-hai 94325,13 *ooze *pudding 95132,4 oracle delphi p*thia 95340,9 orb of detection 95828,4 orb of fate 96049,7 goblin king orcrist 96456,9 orcus 96967,3 ~orc ??m* orc* * orc uruk*hai 97147,15 osaku 98004,1 owlbear 98051,6 palantir of westernesse 98370,5 *piercer 98621,8 pit fiend 99036,4 platinum yendorian express card 99227,7 poseido*n 99619,17 ptah 100560,9 *purple worm 101046,6 quadruped 101383,5 quantum mechanic 101679,2 quasit 101797,2 quetzalcoatl 101919,13 raiden 102721,1 rat * rat 102743,2 rock mole 102851,6 rogue 103199,11 rothe 103855,3 rust monster 104000,3 sake 104141,1 salamander 104163,7 sasquatch 104521,4 sceptre of might 104729,6 scorpio* 105038,5 shad* 105317,4 shaman karnov 105514,3 shan*lai*ching 105672,5 shito 105935,1 skeleton 105964,4 slasher 106211,17 slime mold 107206,10 *snake serpent water moccasin python pit viper cobra 107776,20 snickersnee 109193,6 *soldier sergeant lieutenant captain 109421,8 solonor thelandira 109889,2 *spider 109991,1 staff of aesculapius 110054,5 statue* 110330,11 sting 110961,12 susano*o 111593,6 tanko 111904,1 tengu 111963,7 thoth 112360,19 thoth*amon 113437,5 tiger 113694,6 titan 114041,11 tourist 114646,18 trapper 115627,5 tripe ration 115935,10 *troll 116537,15 tsurugi of muramasa 117375,5 tsurugi 117685,6 twoflower guide 118000,23 tyaa 119038,2 tyr 119120,14 *hulk 119943,5 *unicorn unicorn horn 120218,23 valkyrie 121654,13 vampire vampire bat vampire lord 122312,5 vlad* 122589,9 *vortex vortices 123143,6 vrock 123490,4 wakizashi 123688,2 warg 123803,17 *wight 124668,9 wizard of balance 125171,5 wizard of yendor 125453,10 wolf *wolf 126043,5 *worm long worm tail worm tooth crysknife 126301,6 wraith nazgul 126639,17 wumpus 127622,6 xan 127943,12 xorn 128580,5 ya 128850,2 yeenoghu 128963,5 yeti 129233,3 yugake 129414,3 yumi 129602,4 *zombie 129815,5 zruty 130064,2 . 130159,0 Aerdrie Faenya is the elven goddess of air and weather. As a rain- bringer, she is revered as a source of fertility. She is, however, perceived as a somewhat distant goddess, and the fact that she is also revered by some aarakocra slightly diminishes the strength of elven devotion to her (as does her definite neutral tendency in alignment). The goddess herself takes delight in the freedom of the skies, the music of wind instruments, and (sometimes) fairly severe and violent thunderstorms. She is friendly to all avians, aarakocra, ki-rin, and lammasu. [ Monster Mythology, by TSR inc. ] A short studded or spiked club attached to a cord allowing it to be drawn back to the wielder after having been thrown. An Aleax, according to the AD&D Fiend Folio, is a creature that looks exactly like the character, and is sent by the character's god to punish alignment violations. Obviously - and luckily - in Nethack this is not the case. The Shinto sun goddess, Amaterasu Omikami is the central figure of Shintoism and the ancestral deity of the imperial house. One of the daughters of the primordial god Izanagi and said to be his favourite offspring, she was born from his left eye. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] Get thee hence, nor come again, Mix not memory with doubt, Pass, thou deathlike type of pain, Pass and cease to move about! 'Tis the blot upon the brain That will show itself without. ... For, Maud, so tender and true, As long as my life endures I feel I shall owe you a debt, That I never can hope to pay; And if ever I should forget That I owe this debt to you And for your sweet sake to yours; O then, what then shall I say? - If ever I should forget, May God make me more wretched Than ever I have been yet! [ Maud, And Other Poems by Alfred Lord Tennyson ] He answered and said unto them, he that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the weeds are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. [...] So shall it be at the end of the world; the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. [ The Gospel According to Matthew, 13:37-42, 49-50 ] An Egyptian god of war and a great hunter, few gods can match his fury. Unlike many gods of war, he is a force for good. The wrath of Anhur is slow to come, but it is inescapable once earned. Anhur is a mighty figure with four arms. He is often seen with a powerful lance that requires both of his right arms to wield and which is tipped with a fragment of the sun. He is married to Mehut, a lion-headed goddess. The twin city of Ankh-Morpork, foremost of all the cities bounding the Circle Sea, was as a matter of course the home of a large number of gangs, thieves' guilds, syndicates and similar organisations. This was one of the reasons for its wealth. Most of the humbler folk on the widdershin side of the river, in Morpork's mazy alleys, supplemented their meagre incomes by filling some small role for one or other of the competing gangs. [ The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett ] A primordial Babylonian-Akkadian deity, Anshar is mentioned in the Babylonian creation epic _Enuma Elish_ as one of a pair of offspring (with Kishar) of Lahmu and Lahamu. Anshar is linked with heaven while Kishar is identified with earth. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] This giant variety of the ordinary ant will fight just as fiercely as its small, distant cousin. Various varieties exist, and they are known and feared for their relentless persecution of their victims. Anu was the Babylonian god of the heavens, the monarch of the north star. He was the oldest of the Babylonian gods, the father of all gods, and the ruler of heaven and destiny. Anu features strongly in the _atiku_ festival in Babylon, Uruk and other cities. The most highly evolved of all the primates, as shown by all their anatomical characters and particularly the development of the brain. Both arboreal and terrestrial, the apes have the forelimbs much better developed than the hind limbs. Tail entirely absent. Growth is slow and sexual maturity reached at quite an advanced age. [ A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Africa by Dorst ] Aldo the gorilla had a plan. It was a good plan. It was right. He knew it. He smacked his lips in anticipation as he thought of it. Yes. Apes should be strong. Apes should be masters. Apes should be proud. Apes should make the Earth shake when they walked. Apes should _rule_ the Earth. [ Battle for the Planet of the Apes, by David Gerrold ] Four-handed, tailless, mammal of the order of Primates, of the sub-order of _Anthropoidea_, which of all mammals most closely resembles man (both in appearance and in behaviour). [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] Archons are the predominant inhabitants of the heavens. However unusual their appearance, they are not generally evil. They are beings at peace with themselves and their surroundings. Archons are the primary inhabitants of the Seven Heavens. The five varieties of archon (Lantern, Hound, Warden, Sword, and Tome) have wholly different appearances. The various types look like spheres of light, dog-faced humanoids, bear-like humanoids, winged humanoids, and hawk-like humanoids respectively. Although there is a distinct hierarchy among the varieties, there is no rivalry or jealousy there. Each has his role to fulfil and that is recognition enough for an archon. However strange and frightening their appearance, archons never seem evil. Rather, they appear as beings at peace with themselves and their environment. [ Monstrous Compendium 8, by TSR inc. ] Ashikaga Takajui was a daimyo of the Minamoto clan who joined forces with the Go-Daigo to defeat the Hojo armies. Later when Go-Daigo attempted to reduce the powers of the samurai clans he rebelled against him. He defeated Go- Daigo and established the emperor Komyo on the throne. Go-Daigo eventually escaped and established another government in the town of Yoshino. This period of dual governments was known as the Nambokucho. [ Samurai - The Story of a Warrior Tradition, by Cook ] On July 8, 1336, he and his samurai entered Kyoto, forced Go-Daigo to retire, after which he seized power himself and installed a puppet prince on the throne (the current Japanese imperial family are the descendants of this puppet emperor that Ashikaga installed). Go-Daigo escaped, though, wouldn't admit to have been defeated, and opened a new "capital" in Yoshino (south of Kyoto), where he and few of his descendants claimed to be running a government, known as the "Southern Court". The period between 1337 and 1392, when Japan was ruled by two courts, is known as the Nambokucho. That "government" disappeared, naturally, after a few generations, and Ashikaga's Muromachi regime lasted for a long time. The last Ashikaga daimyo in power was the 14th descendant of Takauji. This small, inoffensive-looking snake shares the feared power of petrification with its distant relatives the cockatrice and basilisk. Just one touch from its blunt snout can render one motionless for all eternity. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] Horned devils lack any real special abilities, though they are quite difficult to kill. The incubus and succubus are male and female versions of the same demon, one who lies with a human for its own purposes, usually to the detriment of the mortals who are unwise in their dealings with them. These female-seeming devils attack hand to hand and poison their unwary victims as well. The marilith, a type V demon, has a torso shaped like that of a human female, and the lower body of a great snake. It has multiple arms, and can freely attack with all of them. Since it is intelligent enough to use weapons, this means it can cause great damage. Barbed devils lack any real special abilities, though they are quite difficult to kill. The vrock is one of the weaker forms of demon, being only a type I. It resembles a cross between a human being and a vulture and does physical damage by biting and by using the claws on both its arms and feet. ``Hezrou'' is the common name for the type II demon. It is among the weaker of demons, but still quite formidable. Bone devils attack with weapons and with a great hooked tail which causes a loss of strength to those they sting. Not only do these demons, which are of type IV, do physical damage with their claws and bite, but they are capable of using magic as well. Ice devils are large semi-insectoid creatures, who are equally at home in the fires of Hell and the cold of Limbo, and who can cause the traveller to feel the latter with just a touch of their tail. Pit fiends are among the more powerful of devils, capable of attacking twice with weapons as well as grabbing and crush- ing the life out of those unwary enough to enter their domains. Little is known about the Faceless Lord, even the correct spelling of his name. He does not have a physical form as we know it, and those who have peered into his realm claim he is a slime-like creature who swallows other creatures alive, spits acidic secretions, and causes disease in his victims which can be almost instantly fatal. Yeenoghu, the demon lord of gnolls, still exists although all his followers have been wiped off the face of the earth. He casts magic projectiles at those close to him, and a mere gaze into his piercing eyes may hopelessly confuse the battle-weary adventurer. Orcus, Prince of the Undead, has a rams head and a poison stinger. He is most feared, though, for his powerful magic abilities. His wand causes death to those he chooses. Geryon is an arch-devil sometimes called the Wild Beast, attacking with his claws and poison sting. His ranking in Hell is rumored to be quite low. Dispater is an arch-devil who rules the city of Dis. He is a powerful mage. Baalzebub has been known as the lord of the flies. His bite drips poison, and a mere glance into his eyes can stun the hapless invader of his realm. It is said that Asmodeus is the overlord over all of hell. His appearance, unlike many other demons and devils, is human apart from his horns and tail. He can freeze flesh with a touch. Demogorgon, the prince of demons, wallows in filth and can spread a quickly fatal illness to his victims while rending them. He is a mighty spellcaster, and he can drain the life of mortals with a touch of his tail. The consecrated ritual knife of a Wiccan initiate (one of four basic tools, together with the wand, chalice and pentacle). Traditionally, the athame is a double-edged, black-handled, cross-hilted dagger of between six and eighteen inches length. Athene was the offspring of Zeus, and without a mother. She sprang forth from his head completely armed. Her favourite bird was the owl, and the plant sacred to her is the olive. [ Bulfinch's Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch ] Athena, the Greek goddess of war and peace, the peaceful arts, and wisdom. Patron defender of many Greek cities, Athens in particular (then called Pallas Athena), she is a major goddess of the Greek pantheon and, according to Hesiod, the daughter of Metis (Wisdom) and Zeus, born fully armed from his head. A goddess of battle and allegedly a snake goddess, she is a deity who also stands for discipline against the more unruly conduct of such as Hermes and Poseidon. Her symbol is the Aegis, the skin of a sacrificial goat. She is also associated with ship-building and domestic crafts. [ after the Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] A device used to throw spears for longer distances. A short staff with a handle at one end and a cradle for the spear at the other. A mundane salamander, harmless. The "lord of the flies" is a translation of the Hebrew Ba'alzevuv (Beelzebub in Greek). It has been suggested that it was a mistranslation of a mistransliterated word which gave us this pungent and suggestive name of the Devil, a devil whose name suggests that he is devoted to decay, destruction, demoralization, hysteria and panic... [ Notes on _Lord of the Flies_, by E. L. Epstein ] ... It came to the edge of the fire and the light faded as if a cloud had bent over it. Then with a rush it leaped the fissure. The flames roared up to greet it, and wreathed about it; and a black smoke swirled in the air. Its streaming mane kindled, and blazed behind it. In its right hand was a blade like a stabbing tongue of fire; in its left it held a whip of many thongs. 'Ai, ai!' wailed Legolas. 'A Balrog! A Balrog is come!' [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] Extinct rhinos include a variety of forms, the most spectacular being _Baluchitherium_ from the Oligocene of Asia, which is the largest known land mammal. Its body, 18 feet high at the shoulder and carried on massive limbs, allowed the 4-foot-long head to browse on the higher branches of trees. Though not as enormous, the titanotheres of the early Tertiary were also large perissodactyls, _Brontotherium_ of the Oligocene being 8 feet high at the shoulder. [Prehistoric Animals, by Barry Cox ] They dressed alike -- in buckskin boots, leathern breeks and deerskin shirts, with broad girdles that held axes and short swords; and they were all gaunt and scarred and hard-eyed; sinewy and taciturn. They were wild men, of a sort, yet there was still a wide gulf between them and the Cimmerian. They were sons of civilization, reverted to a semi-barbarism. He was a barbarian of a thousand generations of barbarians. They had acquired stealth and craft, but he had been born to these things. He excelled them even in lithe economy of motion. They were wolves, but he was a tiger. [ Conan - The Warrior, by Robert E. Howard ] Hrun the Barbarian crept soundlessly along the corridors, which were lit with a light so violet that it was almost black. his earlier confusion was gone. This was obviously a magical temple, and that explained everything. ... Observe Hrun, as he leaps cat-footed across a suspicious tunnel mouth. Even in this violet light his skin gleams coppery. There is much gold about his person, in the form of anklets and wristlets, but otherwise he is naked except for a leopardskin loincloth. He took that in the steaming forests of Howondaland, after killing its owner with his teeth. In his right hand he carried the magical black sword Kring, which was forged from a thunderbolt and has a soul but suffers no scabbard. Hrun had stolen it only three days before from the impregnable palace of the Archmandrite of B'Ituni, and he was already regretting it. It was beginning to get on his nerves. "I tell you it went down that last passage on the right," hissed Kring in a voice like the scrape of a blade over stone. "Be silent!" "All I said was -" "Shut up!" [ The colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] At first glance an unassuming lizard; at first touch instantaneous petrification. Such is the life of the feared basilisk. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook Barbed devils lack any real special abilities, though they are quite difficult to kill. A bat, flitting in the darkness outside, took the wrong turn as it made its nightly rounds and came in through the window which had been left healthfully open. It then proceeded to circle the room in the aimless fat-headed fashion habitual with bats, who are notoriously among the less intellectually gifted of God's creatures. Show me a bat, says the old proverb, and I will show you something that ought to be in some kind of a home. [ A Pelican at Blandings, by P. G. Wodehouse ] This giant variety of its useful normal cousin normally appears in small groups, looking for raw material to produce the royal jelly needed to feed their queen. On rare occasions, one may stumble upon a bee-hive, in which the queen bee is being well provided for, and guarded against intruders. The common name for the insects with wings shaped like shields (_Coleoptera_), one of the ten sub-species into which the insects are divided. They are characterized by the shields (the front pair of wings) under which the back wings are folded. [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] "A bell, book and candle job." The Bursar sighed. "We tried that, Archchancellor." The Archchancellor leaned towards him. "Eh?" he said. "I _said_, we tried that Archchancellor," said the Bursar loudly, directing his voice at the old man's ear. "After dinner, you remember? We used Humptemper's _Names of the Ants_ and rang Old Tom."* "Did we, indeed. Worked, did it?" "_No_, Archchancellor." * Old Tom was the single cracked bronze bell in the University bell tower. [ Eric, by Terry Pratchett ] On this particular day Blind Io, by dint of constant vigilance the chief of the gods, sat with his chin on his hand and looked at the gaming board on the red marble table in front of him. Blind Io had got his name because, where his eye sockets should have been, there were nothing but two areas of blank skin. His eyes, of which he had an impressively large number, led a semi-independent life of their own. Several were currently hovering above the table. [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] Animated protoplasm. Bone devils attack with weapons and with a great hooked tail which causes a loss of strength to those they sting. Faustus: Come on Mephistopheles. What shall we do? Mephistopheles: Nay, I know not. We shall be cursed with bell, book, and candle. Faustus: How? Bell, book, and candle, candle, book, and bell, Forward and backward, to curse Faustus to hell. Anon you shall hear a hog grunt, a calf bleat, and an ass bray, Because it is Saint Peter's holy day. (Enter all the Friars to sing the dirge) [ Doctor Faustus and Other Plays, by Christopher Marlowe ] Brigit (Brigid, Bride, Banfile), which means the Exalted One, was the Celtic (continental European and Irish) fertility goddess. She was originally celebrated on February first in the festival of Imbolc, which coincided with the beginning of lactation in ewes and was regarded in Scotland as the date on which Brigit deposed the blue-faced hag of winter. The Christian calendar adopted the same date for the Feast of St. Brigit. There is no record that a Christian saint ever actually existed, but in Irish mythology she became the midwife to the Virgin Mary. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] Bring me my broadsword And clear understanding. Bring me my cross of gold, As a talisman. [ "Broadsword" (refrain) by Ian Anderson ] Bugbears are relatives of goblins, although they tend to be larger and more hairy. They are aggressive carnivores and sometimes kill just for the treasure their victims may be carrying. Bugbears are giant, hairy cousins of goblins who frequent the same areas as their smaller relatives. Bugbears are large and very muscular, standing 7' tall. Their hides range from light yellow to yellow brown and their thick coarse hair varies in colour from brown to brick red. Though vaguely humanoid in appearance, bugbears seem to contain the blood of some large carnivore. Their eyes recall those of some savage bestial animal, being greenish white with red pupils, while their ears are wedge shaped, rising from the top of their heads. A bugbear's mouth is full of long sharp fangs. Bugbears have two main goals in life: survival and treasure. They are superb carnivores, winnowing out the weak and careless adventurer, monster, and animal. Goblins are always on their toes when bugbears are present, for the weak or stupid quickly end up in the stewpot. [ Monstrous Manual, by TSR, Inc. ] A classical Mesoamerican Aztec god, also known as Mixcoatl- Camaxtli (the Cloud Serpent), Camaxtli is the god of war. He is also a diety of hunting and fire who received human sacrifice of captured prisoners. According to tradition, the sun god Tezcatlipoca transformed himself into Mixcoatl-Camaxtli to make fire by twirling the sacred fire sticks. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] Imagine a sealed container, so perfectly constructed that no physical influence can pass either inwards or outwards across its walls. Imagine that inside the container is a cat, and also a device that can be triggered by some quantum event. If that event takes place, then the device smashes a phial containing cyanide and the cat is killed. If the event does not take place, the cat lives on. In Schroedinger's original version, the quantum event was the decay of a radioactive atom. ... To the outside observer, the cat is indeed in a linear combination of being alive and dead, and only when the container is finally opened would the cat's state vector collapse into one or the other. On the other hand, to a (suitably protected) observer inside the container, the cat's state-vector would have collapsed much earlier, and the outside observer's linear combination has no relevance. [ The Emperor's New Mind, by Roger Penrose ] Well-known quadruped domestic animal from the family of predatory felines (_Felis ochreata domestica_), with a thick, soft pelt; often kept as a pet. Various folklores have the cat associated with magic and the gods of ancient Egypt. Of all the monsters put together by the Greek imagination the Centaurs (Kentauroi) constituted a class in themselves. Despite a strong streak of sensuality, in their make-up, their normal behaviour was moral, and they took a kindly thought of man's welfare. The attempted outrage of Nessos on Deianeira, and that of the whole tribe of Centaurs on the Lapith women, are more than offset by the hospitality of Pholos and by the wisdom of Cheiron, physician, prophet, lyrist, and the instructor of Achilles. Further, the Centaurs were peculiar in that their nature, which united the body of a horse with the trunk and head of a man, involved an unthinkable duplication of vital organs and important members. So grotesque a combination seems almost un-Greek. These strange creatures were said to live in the caves and clefts of the mountains, myths associating them especially with the hills of Thessaly and the range of Erymanthos. [ Mythology of all races, Vol. 1, pp. 270-271 ] Cerberus, (or Kerberos in Greek), was the three-headed dog that guarded the Gates of Hell. He allowed any dead to enter, and likewise prevented them all from ever leaving. He was bested only twice: once when Orpheus put him to sleep by playing bewitching music on his lyre, and the other time when Hercules confronted him and took him to the world of the living (as his twelfth and last labor). Name of a family (_Chameleonidae_) and race (_Chameleo_) of scaly lizards, especially the _Chameleo vulgaris_ species, with a short neck, claws, a grasping tail, a long, extendible tongue and mutually independent moving eyes. When it is scared or angry, it inflates itself and its transparent skin shows its blood: the skin first appears greenish, then gradually changes color until it is a spotted red. The final color depends on the background color as well, hence the (figurative) implication of unreliability. [Capitalized:] a constellation of the southern hemisphere (Chameleo). [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] When an ancient Greek died, his soul went to the nether world: the Hades. To reach the nether world, the souls had to cross the river Styx, the river that separated the living from the dead. The Styx could be crossed by ferry, whose shabby ferry- man, advanced in age, was called Charon. The deceased's next- of-kin would place a coin under his tongue, to pay the ferry- man. A Chinese rain god. Tiamat is said to be the mother of evil dragonkind. She is extremely vain. Avaricious, supremely vain, and profoundly Lawful Evil, Tiamat proclaims herself the creator of all evil dragonkind, and certainly many evil dragons revere her as their creator and patron deity. She infests the uppermost of the Nine Hells with her consorts, each a Great Wyrm of different colour - one red, one white, one green, one blue, and one black. Tiamat's Avatar appears as a gigantic five-headed dragon with one head of each of the chromatic (evil) dragon types. Each head's colour runs the length of the neck and into the forepart of het body as stripes, gradually blending to three stripes of grey, blue-green, and purple over her back and hind-quarters, then merging into a muddy dark brown tail. Her underbelly and legs are greenish white fading into her upper body colours. [ Monster Mythology, by TSR inc. ] Once in a great while, when the positions of the stars are just right, a seven-year-old rooster will lay an egg. Then, along will come a snake, to coil around the egg, or a toad, to squat upon the egg, keeping it warm and helping it to hatch. When it hatches, out comes a creature called basilisk, or cockatrice, the most deadly of all creatures. A single glance from its yellow, piercing toad's eyes will kill both man and beast. Its power of destruction is said to be so great that sometimes simply to hear its hiss can prove fatal. Its breath is so venomous that it causes all vegetation to wither. There is, however, one creature which can withstand the basilisk's deadly gaze, and this is the weasel. No one knows why this is so, but although the fierce weasel can slay the basilisk, it will itself be killed in the struggle. Perhaps the weasel knows the basilisk's fatal weakness: if it ever sees its own reflection in a mirror it will perish instantly. But even a dead basilisk is dangerous, for it is said that merely touching its lifeless body can cause a person to sicken and die. [ Mythical Beasts by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library) and other sources ] This beastie is the recently-hatched broodling of a cockatrice, a creature feared by adventurers great and small for its petrifying peck. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] A single glance from this red-feathered cockatrice can cause even the bravest adventurer to burst into flames, their flesh withering and blackening and curling beneath the creature's baleful gaze. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] He was dressed in a flowing gown with fur tippets which had the signs of the zodiac embroidered over it, with various cabalistic signs, such as triangles with eyes in them, queer crosses, leaves of trees, bones of birds and animals, and a planetarium whose stars shone like bits of looking-glass with the sun on them. He had a pointed hat like a dunce's cap, or like the headgear worn by ladies of that time, except that the ladies were accustomed to have a bit of veil floating from the top of it. [ The Once and Future King, by T.H. White ] "A wizard!" Dooley exclaimed, astounded. "At your service, sirs," said the wizard. "How perceptive of you to notice. I suppose my hat rather gives me away. Something of a beacon, I don't doubt." His hat was pretty much that, tall and cone-shaped with stars and crescent moons all over it. All in all, it couldn't have been more wizardish. [ The Elfin Ship, James P. Blaylock ] A mythical feathered serpent. The couatl are very rare. The couatl are feathered serpents of myth and lore. It is believed that they are distant relatives of dragons, though this remains unproven. So rare as to be considered legendary, the couatl are some of the most beautiful creatures in existence. A couatl has the body of a long serpent and feathered wings the colour of the rainbow. Occasionally sent as messengers from the gods to their erring servants, a couatl will always seek to punish those who deserve it. [ 2nd ed. Monstrous Compendium, by TSR, Inc. ] If you want to know what cram is, I can only say that I don't know the recipe; but it is biscuitish, keeps good indefinitely, is supposed to be sustaining, and is certainly not entertaining, being in fact very uninteresting except as a chewing exercise. It was made by the Lake-men for long journeys. [The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien] A big animal with the appearance of a lizard, constituting an order of the reptiles (_Loricata_ or _Crocodylia_), the crocodile is a large, dangerous predator native to tropical and subtropical climes. It spends most of its time in large bodies of water. Croesus (in Greek: Kroisos), the wealthy last king of Lydia; his empire was destroyed when he attacked Cyrus in 549, after the Oracle of Delphi (q.v.) had told him: "if you attack the Persians, you will destroy a mighty empire". Herodotus relates of his legendary conversation with Solon of Athens, who impressed upon him that being rich does not imply being happy and that no one should be considered fortunate before his death. Warily Conan scanned his surroundings, all of his senses alert for signs of possible danger. Off in the distance, he could see the familiar shapes of the Camp of the Duali tribe. Suddenly, the hairs on his neck stand on end as he detects the aura of evil magic in the air. Without thought, he readies his weapon, and mutters under his breath: "By Crom, there will be blood spilt today." [ Conan the Avenger by Robert E. Howard, Bjorn Nyberg, and L. Sprague de Camp ] And after he had milked his cattle swiftly, he again took hold of two of my men and had them as his supper. Then I went, with a tub of red wine, to stand before the Cyclops, saying: "A drop of wine after all this human meat, so you can taste the delicious wine that is stored in our ship, Cyclops." He took the tub and emptied it. He appreciated the priceless wine that much that he promptly asked me for a second tub. "Give it", he said, "and give me your name as well". ... Thrice I filled the tub, and after the wine had clouded his mind, I said to him, in a tone as sweet as honey: "You have asked my name, Cyclops? Well, my name is very well known. I'll give it to you, if you give me the gift you promised me as a guest. My name is Nobody. All call me thus: my father and my mother and my friends." Ruthlessly he answered to this: "Nobody, I will eat you last of all; your host of friends will completely precede you. That will be my present to you, my friend." And after these words he fell down backwards, restrained by the all-restrainer Hupnos. His monstrous neck slid into the dust; the red wine squirted from his throat; the drunk vomited lumps of human flesh. [ The Odyssey, (chapter Epsilon), by Homer ] ... But he ruled rather by force and fear, if they might avail; and those who perceived his shadow spreading over the world called him the Dark Lord and named him the Enemy; and he gathered again under his government all the evil things of the days of Morgoth that remained on earth or beneath it, and the Orcs were at his command and multiplied like flies. Thus the Black Years began ... [ The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] Demogorgon, the prince of demons, wallows in filth and can spread a quickly fatal illness to his victims while rending them. He is a mighty spellcaster, and he can drain the life of mortals with a touch of his tail. Dispater is an arch-devil who rules the city of Dis. He is a powerful mage. The djinn are genies from the elemental plane of Air. There, among their kind, they have their own societies. They are sometimes encountered on earth and may even be summoned here to perform some service for powerful wizards. The wizards often leave them about for later service, safely tucked away in a flask or lamp. Once in a while, such a tool is found by a lucky rogue, and some djinn are known to be so grateful when released that they might grant their rescuer a wish. A domestic animal, the _tame dog_ (_Canis familiaris_), of which numerous breeds exist. The male is called a dog, while the female is called a bitch. Because of its known loyalty to man and gentleness with children, it is the world's most popular domestic animal. It can easily be trained to perform various tasks. This evil creature (_canis tenebrous_) lurks in the darker, more sinister corners of the world. Its bite is known for its chilling effect upon humanoid flesh, and it is not a tameable animal. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] This hazy canine (_canis precipitous_) is thought to have a good heart hiding somewhere within its green, silky hide. Unfortunately, the beast is usually ravenous, as its diet of mist is not very filling, at least compared to human flesh. [ The New Bestiary, Wizard Endlebrook ] In the West the dragon was the natural enemy of man. Although preferring to live in bleak and desolate regions, whenever it was seen among men it left in its wake a trail of destruction and disease. Yet any attempt to slay this beast was a perilous undertaking. For the dragon's assailant had to contend not only with clouds of sulphurous fumes pouring from its fire breathing nostrils, but also with the thrashings of its tail, the most deadly part of its serpent-like body. [Mythical Beasts by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library)] Dwarfs have faces like men (ugly men, with wrinkled, leathery skins), but are generally either flat-footed, duck-footed, or have feet pointing backwards. They are of the earth, earthy, living in the darkest of caverns and venturing forth only with the cloaks by which they can make themselves invisible, and others disguised as toads. Miners often come across them, and sometimes establish reasonably close relations with them. ... The miners of Cornwall were always delighted to hear a bucca busily mining away, for all dwarfs have an infallible nose for precious metals. Among other things, dwarfs are rightly valued for their skill as blacksmiths and jewellers: they made Odin his famous spear Gungnir, and Thor his hammer; for Freya they designed a magnificent necklace, and for Frey a golden boar. And in their spare time they are excellent bakers. Ironically, despite their odd feet, they are particularly fond of dancing. They can also see into the future, and consequently are excellent meteorologists. They can be free with presents to people they like, and a dwarvish gift is likely to turn to gold in the hand. But on the whole they are a snappish lot. [ The Immortals, by Derek and Julia Parker ] In after days, when because of the triumph of Morgoth Elves and Men became estranged, as he most wished, those of the Elven-race that lived still in Middle-earth waned and faded, and Men usurped the sunlight. Then the Quendi wandered in the lonely places of the great lands and the isles, and took to the moonlight and the starlight, and to the woods and the caves, becoming as shadows and memories, save those who ever and anon set sail into the West and vanished from Middle-earth. But in the dawn of years Elves and Men were allies and held themselves akin, and there were some among Men that learned the wisdom of the Eldar, and became great and valiant among the captains of the Noldor. And in the glory and beauty of the Elves, and in their fate, full share had the offspring of elf and mortal, Earendil, and Elwing, and Elrond their child. [ The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] The behaviour of eels in fresh water extends the air of mystery surrounding them. They move freely into muddy, silty bottoms of lakes, lying buried in the daylight hours in summer. [...] Eels are voracious carnivores, feeding mainly at night and consuming a wide variety of fishes and invertebrate creatures. Contrary to earlier thinking, eels seek living rather than dead creatures and are not habitual eaters of carrion. [ Freshwater Fishes of Canada, by Scott and Crossman ] ... Even as they stepped over the threshold a single clear voice rose in song. A Elbereth Gilthoniel, silivren penna miriel o menel aglar elenath! Na-chaered palen-diriel o galadhremmin ennorath, Fanuilos, le linnathon nef aear, si nef aearon! Frodo halted for a moment, looking back. Elrond was in his chair and the fire was on his face like summer-light upon the trees. Near him sat the Lady Arwen. [...] He stood still enchanted, while the sweet syllables of the elvish song fell like clear jewels of blended word and melody. "It is a song to Elbereth," said Bilbo. "They will sing that, and other songs of the Blessed Realm, many times tonight. Come on!" [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] South-American fish (_Gymnotus electricus_), living in fresh water. Shaped like a serpent, it can grow up to 2 metres. This eel is known for its electrical organ which enables it to paralyse creatures up to the size of a horse. [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] Elementals are manifestations of the basic nature of the universe. There are four known forms of elementals: air, fire, water, and earth. Some mystics have postulated the necessity for a fifth type, the spirit elemental, but none have ever been encountered, at least on this plane of existence. The Elves sat round the fire upon the grass or upon the sawn rings of old trunks. Some went to and fro bearing cups and pouring drinks; others brought food on heaped plates and dishes. "This is poor fare," they said to the hobbits; "for we are lodging in the greenwood far from our halls. If ever you are our guests at home, we will treat you better." "It seems to me good enough for a birthday-party," said Frodo. Pippin afterwards recalled little of either food or drink, for his mind was filled with the light upon the elf-faces, and the sound of voices so various and so beautiful that he felt in a waking dream. [...] Sam could never describe in words, nor picture clearly to himself, what he felt or thought that night, though it remained in his memory as one of the chief events of his life. The nearest he ever got was to say: "Well, sir, if I could grow apples like that, I would call myself a gardener. But it was the singing that went to my heart, if you know what I mean." [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] These female-seeming devils named after the Furies of mythology attack hand to hand and poison their unwary victims as well. The two-headed giant, or ettin, is a vicious and unpredictable hunter that stalks by night and eats any meat it can catch. At first only its tip was visible, but then it rose, straight, proud, all that was noble and great and wondrous. The tip of the blade pointed toward the moon, as if it would cleave it in two. The blade itself gleamed like a beacon in the night. There was no light source for the sword to be reflecting from, for the moon had darted behind a cloud in fear. The sword was glowing from the intensity of its strength and power and knowledge that it was justice incarnate, and that after a slumber of uncounted years its time had again come. After the blade broke the surface, the hilt was visible, and holding the sword was a single strong, yet feminine hand, wearing several rings that bore jewels sparkling with the blue-green color of the ocean. [ Knight Life, by Peter David ] This is a powerful amulet of ESP. In addition to its standard powers, it regenerates the energy of anyone who carries it, allowing them to cast spells more often. It also reduces any spell damage to the person who carries it by half, and protects from magic missiles. Finally, when invoked it has the power to instantly open a portal to any other area of the dungeon, allowing its invoker to travel quickly between areas. Floating eyes, not surprisingly, are large, floating eyeballs which drift about the dungeon. Though not dangerous in and of themselves, their power to paralyse those who gaze at their large eye in combat is widely feared. Many are the tales of those who struck a floating eye, were paralysed by its mystic powers, and then nibbled to death by some other creature that lurked around nearby. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs. How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!--Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips. [ Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ] The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on. [ Fog, by Carl Sandburg ] Fungi, division of simple plants that lack chlorophyll, true stems, roots, and leaves. Unlike algae, fungi cannot photosynthesize, and live as parasites or saprophytes. The division comprises the slime molds and true fungi. True fungi are multicellular (with the exception of yeasts); the body of most true fungi consists of slender cottony filaments, or hyphae. All fungi are capable of asexual reproduction by cell division, budding, fragmentation, or spores. Those that reproduce sexually alternate a sexual generation (gametophyte) with a spore-producing one. The four classes of true fungi are the algaelike fungi (e.g., black bread mold and downy mildew), sac fungi (e.g., yeasts, powdery mildews, truffles, and blue and green molds such as Penicillium), basidium fungi (e.g., mushrooms and puffballs) and imperfect fungi (e.g., species that cause athlete's foot and ringworm). Fungi help decompose organic matter (important in soil renewal); are valuable as a source of antibiotics, vitamins, and various chemicals; and for their role in fermentation, e.g., in bread and alcoholic beverage production. [ The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia ] And so it came to pass that while Man ruled on Earth, the gargoyles waited, lurking, hidden from the light. Reborn every 600 years in Man's reckoning of time, the gargoyles joined battle against Man to gain dominion over the Earth. In each coming, the gargoyles were nearly destroyed by Men who flourished in greater numbers. Now it has been so many hundreds of years that it seems the ancient statues and paintings of gargoyles are just products of Man's imagination. In this year, with Man's thoughts turned toward the many ills he has brought among himself, Man has forgotten his most ancient adversary, the gargoyles. [ Excerpt from the opening narration to the movie _Gargoyles_, written by Stephen and Elinor Karpf ] Geryon is an arch-devil sometimes called the Wild Beast, attacking with his claws and poison sting. His ranking in Hell is rumored to be quite low. And now the souls of the dead who had gone below came swarming up from Erebus -- fresh brides, unmarried youths, old men with life's long suffering behind them, tender young girls still nursing this first anguish in their hearts, and a great throng of warriors killed in battle, their spear-wounds gaping yet and all their armour stained with blood. From this multitude of souls, as they fluttered to and fro by the trench, there came a moaning that was horrible to hear. Panic drained the blood from my cheeks. [ The Odyssey, (chapter Lambda), by Homer ] Giants have always walked the earth, though they are rare in these times. They range in size from little over nine feet to a towering twenty feet or more. The larger ones use huge boulders as weapons, hurling them over large distances. All types of giants share a love for men - roasted, boiled, or fried. Their table manners are legendary. ... And then a gnome came by, carrying a bundle, an old fellow three times as large as an imp and wearing clothes of a sort, especially a hat. And he was clearly just as frightened as the imps though he could not go so fast. Ramon Alonzo saw that there must be some great trouble that was vexing magical things; and, since gnomes speak the language of men, and will answer if spoken to gently, he raised his hat, and asked of the gnome his name. The gnome did not stop his hasty shuffle a moment as he answered 'Alaraba' and grabbed the rim of his hat but forgot to doff it. 'What is the trouble, Alaraba?' said Ramon Alonzo. 'White magic. Run!' said the gnome .. [ The Charwoman's Shadow, by Lord Dunsany ] Now goblins are cruel, wicked, and bad-hearted. They make no beautiful things, but they make many clever ones. They can tunnel and mine as well as any but the most skilled dwarves, when they take the trouble, though they are usually untidy and dirty. Hammers, axes, swords, daggers, pickaxes, tongs, and also instruments of torture, they make very well, or get other people to make to their design, prisoners and slaves that have to work till they die for want of air and light. [ The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] A metal of characteristic yellow colour, the most precious metal used as a common commercial medium of exchange. Symbol, Au; at. no. 79; at. wt. 197.2. It is the most malleable and ductile of all metals, and very heavy (sp. gr., 19.3). It is quite unalterable by heat, moisture, and most corrosive agents, and therefore well suited for its use in coin and jewelry. [ Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition ] "The original story harks back, so they say, to the sixteenth century. Using long-lost formulas from the Kabbala, a rabbi is said to have made an artificial man -- the so-called Golem -- to help ring the bells in the Synagogue and for all kinds of other menial work. "But he hadn't made a full man, and it was animated by some sort of vegetable half-life. What life it had, too, so the story runs, was only derived from the magic charm placed behind its teeth each day, that drew down to itself what was known as the `free sidereal strength of the universe.' "One evening, before evening prayers, the rabbi forgot to take the charm out of the Golem's mouth, and it fell into a frenzy. It raged through the dark streets, smashing everything in its path, until the rabbi caught up with it, removed the charm, and destroyed it. Then the Golem collapsed, lifeless. All that was left of it was a small clay image, which you can still see in the Old Synagogue." ... [ The Golem, by Gustav Meyrink ] The gremlin is a highly intelligent and completely evil creature. It lives to torment other creatures and will go to great lengths to inflict pain or cause injury. These electronically based creatures are not native to this universe. They appear to come from a world whose laws of motion are radically different from ours. Tron looked to his mate and pilot. "I'm going to check on the beam connection, Yori. You two can keep a watch out for grid bugs." Tron paced forward along the slender catwalk that still seemed awfully insubstantial to Flynn, though he knew it to be amazingly sturdy. He gazed after Tron, asking himself what in the world a grid bug was, and hoping that the beam connection -- to which he'd given no thought whatsoever until this moment -- was healthy and sound." [ Tron, novel by Brian Daley, story by Steven Lisberger ] The samurai's last meal before battle. It was usually made up of cooked chestnuts, dried seaweed, and sake. Hachi was a dog that went with his master, a professor, to the Shibuya train station every morning. In the afternoon, when his master was to return from work Hachi would be there waiting. One day his master died at the office, and did not return. For over ten years Hachi returned to the station every afternoon to wait for his master. When Hachi died a statue was erected on the station platform in his honor. It is said to bring you luck if you touch his statue. The other three drew in their breath sharply, and the dark, powerful man who stood at the head of the sarcophagus whispered: "The Heart of Ahriman!" The other lifted a quick hand for silence. Somewhere a dog began howling dolefully, and a stealthy step padded outside the barred and bolted door. ... But none looked aside from the mummy case over which the man in the ermine-trimmed robe was now moving the great flaming jewel, while he muttered an incantation that was old when Atlantis sank. The glare of the gem dazzled their eyes, so that they could not be sure what they saw; but with a splintering crash, the carven lid of the sarcophagus burst outward as if from some irresistible pressure applied from within and the four men, bending eagerly forward, saw the occupant -- a huddled, withered, wizened shape, with dried brown limbs like dead wood showing through moldering bandages. "Bring that thing back?" muttered the small dark man who stood on the right, with a short, sardonic laugh. "It is ready to crumble at a touch. We are fools ---" [ Conan The Conqueror, by Robert E. Howard ] Hell hounds are fire-breathing canines from another plane of existence brought here in the service of evil beings. A hell hound resembles a large hound with rust-red or red-brown fur, and red, glowing eyes. The markings, teeth, and tongue are soot black. It stands two to three feet high at the shoulder and has a distinct odour of smoke and sulphur. The baying sounds it makes have an eerie, hollow tone that sends a shiver through any who hear them. Messenger and herald of the Olympians. Being required to do a great deal of travelling and speaking in public, he became the god of eloquence, travellers, merchants, and thieves. He was one of the most energetic of the Greek gods, a Machiavellian character full of trickery and sexual vigour. Like other Greek gods, he is endowed with not-inconsiderable sexual prowess which he directs towards countryside nymphs. He is a god of boundaries, guardian of graves and patron deity of shepherds. He is usually depicted as a handsome young man wearing winged golden sandals and holding a magical herald's staff consisting of intertwined serpents, the kerykeion. He is reputedly the only being able to find his way to the underworld ferry of Charon and back again. He is said to have invented, among other things, the lyre, Pan's Pipes, numbers, the alphabet, weights and measures, and sacrificing. "Hezrou" is the common name for the type II demon. It is among the weaker of demons, but still quite formidable. Hobbits are an unobtrusive but very ancient people, more numerous formerly than they are today; for they love peace and quiet and good tilled earth: a well-ordered and well- farmed countryside was their favourite haunt. They do not and did not understand or like machines more complicated than a forge-bellows, a water-mill, or a handloom, although they were skillful with tools. Even in ancient days they were, as a rule, shy of "the Big Folk", as they call us, and now they avoid us with dismay and are becoming hard to find. [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] Hobgoblin. Used by the Puritans and in later times for wicked goblin spirits, as in Bunyan's "Hobgoblin nor foul friend", but its more correct use is for the friendly spirits of the brownie type. In "A midsummer night's dream" a fairy says to Shakespeare's Puck: Those that Hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck, You do their work, and they shall have good luck: Are you not he? and obviously Puck would not wish to be called a hobgoblin if that was an ill-omened word. Hobgoblins are on the whole, good-humoured and ready to be helpful, but fond of practical joking, and like most of the fairies rather nasty people to annoy. Boggarts hover on the verge of hobgoblindom. Bogles are just over the edge. One Hob mentioned by Henderson, was Hob Headless who haunted the road between Hurworth and Neasham, but could not cross the little river Kent, which flowed into the Tess. He was exorcised and laid under a large stone by the roadside for ninety-nine years and a day. If anyone was so unwary as to sit on that stone, he would be unable to quit it for ever. The ninety-nine years is nearly up, so trouble may soon be heard of on the road between Hurworth and Neasham. [ A Dictionary of Fairies, by Katharine Briggs ] A homunculus is a creature summoned by a mage to perform some particular task. They are particularly good at spying. They are smallish creatures, but very agile. They can put their victims to sleep with a venomous bite, but due to their size, the effect does not last long on humans. "Tothapis cut him off. 'Be still and hearken. You will travel aboard the sacred wingboat. Of it you may not have heard; but it will bear you thither in a night and a day and a night. With you will go a homunculus that can relay your words to me, and mine to you, across the leagues between at the speed of thought.'" [ Conan the Rebel, by Poul Anderson] Horned devils lack any real special abilities, though they are quite difficult to kill. [Pestilence:] And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. [War:] And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. [Famine:] And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. [Death:] And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. [ Revelations of John, 6:1-8 ] The first of five mythical Chinese emperors, Huan Ti is known as the yellow emperor. He rules the _moving_ heavens, as opposed to the _dark_ heavens. He is an inventor, said to have given mankind among other things, the wheel, armour, and the compass. He is the god of fortune telling and war. Huehuetotl, or Huhetotl, which means Old God, was the Aztec (classical Mesoamerican) god of fire. He is generally associated with paternalism and one of the group classed as the Xiuhtecuhtli complex. He is known to send his minions to reek havoc upon ordinary humans. [ after the Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] Humanoids are all approximately the size of a human, and may be mistaken for one at a distance. They are usually of a tribal nature, and will fiercely defend their lairs. Usually hostile, they may even band together to raid and pillage human settlements. These strange creatures live mostly on the surface of the earth, gathering together in societies of various forms, but occasionally a stray will descend into the depths and commit mayhem among the dungeon residents who, naturally, often resent the intrusion of such beasts. They are capable of using weapons and magic, and it is even rumored that the Wizard of Yendor is a member of this species. Ice devils are large semi-insectoid creatures, who are equally at home in the fires of Hell and the cold of Limbo, and who can cause the traveller to feel the latter with just a touch of their tail. ... imps ... little creatures of two feet high that could gambol and jump prodigiously; ... [ The Charwoman's Shadow, by Lord Dunsany ] An 'imp' is an off-shoot or cutting. Thus an 'ymp tree' was a grafted tree, or one grown from a cutting, not from seed. 'Imp' properly means a small devil, an off-shoot of Satan, but the distinction between goblins or bogles and imps from hell is hard to make, and many in the Celtic countries as well as the English Puritans regarded all fairies as devils. The fairies of tradition often hover uneasily between the ghostly and the diabolic state. [ A Dictionary of Fairies, by Katharine Briggs ] The incubus and succubus are male and female versions of the same demon, one who lies with a human for its own purposes, usually to the detriment of the mortals who are unwise in their dealings with them. Ishtar (the star of heaven) is the Mesopotamian goddess of fertility and war. She is usually depicted with wings and weapon cases at her shoulders, carrying a ceremonial double- headed mace-scimitar embellished with lion heads, frequently being accompanied by a lion. She is symbolized by an eight- pointed star. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan] Now Issek of the Jug, whom Fafhrd chose to serve, was once of the most lowly and unsuccessful of the gods, godlets rather, in Lankhmar. He had dwelt there for about thirteen years, during which time he had traveled only two squares up the Street of the Gods and was now back again, ready for oblivion. He is not to be confused with Issek the Armless, Issek of the Burnt Legs, Flayed Issek, or any other of the numerous and colorfully mutilated divinities of that name. Indeed, his unpopularity may have been due in part to the fact that the manner of his death -- racking -- was not deemed particularly spectacular. ... However, after Fafhrd became his acolyte, things somehow began to change. [ Swords In The Mist, by Fritz Leiber ] The shopkeeper of the lighting shop in the town level of the gnomish mines is a tribute to Izchak Miller, a founding member of the NetHack development team and a personal friend of a large number of us. Izchak contributed greatly to the game, coding a large amount of the shopkeep logic (hence the nature of the tribute) as well as a good part of the alignment system, the prayer code and the rewrite of "hell" in the 3.1 release. Izchak was a professor of Philosophy, who taught at many respected institutions, including MIT and Stanford, and who also worked, for a period of time, at Xerox PARC. Izchak was the first "librarian" of the NetHack project, and was a founding member of the DevTeam, joining in 1986 while he was working at the University of Pennsylvania (hence our mailing list address). Until the 3.1.3 release, Izchak carefully kept all of the code synchronized and arbitrated disputes between members of the development teams. Izchak Miller passed away at the age of 58, in the early morning hours of April 1, 1994 from complications due to cancer. We dedicate NetHack 3.2 in his memory. [ Mike Stephenson, for the NetHack DevTeam ] "Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!" He took his vorpal sword in hand; Long time the manxome foe he sought -- So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought. And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came! One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back. [ Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll ] In Asiatic folktale, jackal provides for the lion; he scares up game, which the lion kills and eats, and receives what is left as reward. In stories from northern India he is sometimes termed "minister to the king," i.e. to the lion. From the legend that he does not kill his own food has arisen the legend of his cowardice. Jackal's heart must never be eaten, for instance, in the belief of peoples indigenous to the regions where the jackal abounds. ... In Hausa Negro folktale Jackal plays the role of sagacious judge and is called "O Learned One of the Forest." The Bushmen say that Jackal goes around behaving the way he does "because he is Jackal". [ Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore ] Large, flesh-eating animal of the cat family, of Central and South America. This feline predator (_Panthera onca_) is sometimes incorrectly called a panther. [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] Little is known about the Faceless Lord, even the correct spelling of his name. He does not have a physical form as we know it, and those who have peered into his realm claim he is a slime-like creature who swallows other creatures alive, spits acidic secretions, and causes disease in his victims which can be almost instantly fatal. The kabuto is the helmet worn by the samurai. It was characterized by a prominent beaked front which jutted out over the brow to protect the wearer's face; a feature that gives rise to their modern Japanese name of 'shokaku tsuki kabuto' (battering-ram helmet). Their main constructional element was an oval plate, the shokaku bo, slightly domed for the head with a narrow prolongation in front that curved forwards and downwards where it developed a pronounced central fold. Two horizontal strips encircling the head were riveted to this frontal strip: the lower one, the koshimaki (hip wrap), formed the lower edge of the helmet bowl; the other, the do maki (body wrap), was set at about the level of the temples. Filling the gaps between these strips and the shokaku bo were small plates, sometimes triangular but more commonly rectangular in shape. Because the front projected so far from the head, the triangular gap beneath was filled by a small plate, the shoshaku tei ita, whose rear edge bent downwards into a flange that rested against the forehead. [ Arms & Armour of the Samurai, by Bottomley & Hopson ] The katana is a long, single-edged samurai sword with a slightly curved blade. Its long handle is designed to allow it to be wielded with either one or two hands. The ki-rin is a strange-looking flying creature. It has scales, a mane like a lion, a tail, hooves, and a horn. It is brightly colored, and can usually be found flying in the sky looking for good deeds to reward. Ector took both his sons to the church before which the anvil had been placed. There, standing before the anvil, he commanded Kay: "Put the sword back into the steel if you really think the throne is yours!" But the sword glanced off the steel. "Now it is your turn", Ector said facing Arthur. The young man lifted the sword and thrust with both arms; the blade whizzed through the air with a flash and drilled the metal as if it were mere butter. Ector and Kay dropped to their knees before Arthur. "Why, father and brother, do you bow before me?", Arthur asked with wonder in his voice. "Because now I know for sure that you are the king, not only by birth but also by law", Ector said. "You are no son of mine nor are you Kay's brother. Immediately after your birth, Merlin the Wise brought you to me to be raised safely. And though it was me that named you Arthur when you were baptized, you are really the son of brave king Uther Pendragon and queen Igraine..." And after these words, the lord rose and went to see the arch- bishop to impart to him what had passed. [ Van Gouden Tijden Zingen de Harpen, by Vladimir Hulpach, Emanuel Frynta, and Vackav Cibula ] Here lies the noble fearless knight, Whose valour rose to such a height; When Death at last had struck him down, His was the victory and renown. He reck'd the world of little prize, And was a bugbear in men's eyes; But had the fortune in his age To live a fool and die a sage. [ Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miquel de Cervantes Saavedra ] The race of kobolds are reputed to be an artificial creation of a master wizard (demi-god?). They are about 3' tall with a vaguely dog-like face. They bear a violent dislike of the Elven race, and will go out of their way to cause trouble for Elves at any time. The typical policeman of 1920's movies, the Keystone Kop was modeled like the English "bobby", with a long brass-buttoned overcoat, carrying long nightsticks that he (more often than not) whapped himself with, rather than anyone else. The Keystone Kops were very slapstick-like, relying on speed and numbers to achieve their comedy, rather than sophisticated wit. "I am not a coward!" he cried. "I'll dare Thieves' House and fetch you Krovas' head and toss it with blood a-drip at Vlana's feet. I swear that, witness me, Kos the god of dooms, by the brown bones of Nalgron my father and by his sword Graywand here at my side!" [ Swords and Deviltry, by Fritz Leiber ] A Japanese harp. Out from the water a long sinuous tentacle had crawled; it was pale-green and luminous and wet. Its fingered end had hold of Frodo's foot, and was dragging him into the water. Sam on his knees was now slashing at it with a knife. The arm let go of Frodo, and Sam pulled him away, crying out for help. Twenty other arms came rippling out. The dark water boiled, and there was a hideous stench. [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] Blind Io took up the dice-box, which was a skull whose various orifices had been stoppered with rubies, and with several of his eyes on the Lady he rolled three fives. She smiled. This was the nature of the Lady's eyes: they were bright green, lacking iris or pupil, and they glowed from within. The room was silent as she scrabbled in her box of pieces and, from the very bottom, produced a couple that she set down on the board with two de- cisive clicks. The rest of the players, as one God, craned forward to peer at them. "A wenegade wiffard and fome fort of clerk," said Offler the Crocodile God, hindered as usual by his tusks. "Well, weally!" With one claw he pushed a pile of bone-white tokens into the centre of the table. The Lady nodded slightly. She picked up the dice-cup and held it as steady as a rock, yet all the Gods could hear the three cubes rattling about inside. And then she sent them bouncing across the table. A six. A three. A five. Something was happening to the five, however. Battered by the chance col- lision of several billion molecules, the die flipped onto a point, spun gently and came down a seven. Blind Io picked up the cube and counted the sides. "Come _on_," he said wearily, "Play fair." [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett] The lowliest of the inhabitants of hell. ... the leucrocotta, a wild beast of extraordinary swiftness, the size of the wild ass, with the legs of a Stag, the neck, tail, and breast of a lion, the head of a badger, a cloven hoof, the mouth slit up as far as the ears, and one continuous bone instead of teeth; it is said, too, that this animal can imitate the human voice. [ Curious Creatures in Zoology, by John Ashton ] The Irish Leprechaun is the Faeries' shoemaker and is known under various names in different parts of Ireland: Cluricaune in Cork, Lurican in Kerry, Lurikeen in Kildare and Lurigadaun in Tipperary. Although he works for the Faeries, the Leprechaun is not of the same species. He is small, has dark skin and wears strange clothes. His nature has something of the manic-depressive about it: first he is quite happy, whistling merrily as he nails a sole on to a shoe; a few minutes later, he is sullen and morose, drunk on his home-made heather ale. The Leprechaun's two great loves are tobacco and whiskey, and he is a first-rate con-man, impossible to out-fox. No one, no matter how clever, has ever managed to cheat him out of his hidden pot of gold or his magic shilling. At the last minute he always thinks of some way to divert his captor's attention and vanishes in the twinkling of an eye. [ A Field Guide to the Little People by Nancy Arrowsmith & George Moorse ] Once in a great while, an evil master wizard or priest will manage through use of great magics to extend his or her life far beyond the normal span of a human. The usual effect of this is to transform the human, over time, into an undead of great magical power. A Lich hates life in any form; even a touch from one of these creatures will cause a numbing cold in the victim. They all possess the capability to use magic. Strange creatures formed from energy rather than matter, lights are given to self-destructive behavior when battling foes. Lizards, snakes and the burrowing amphisbaenids make up the order Squamata, meaning the scaly ones. The elongate, slim, long-tailed bodies of lizards have become modified to enable them to live in a wide range of habitats. Lizards can be expert burrowers, runners, swimmers and climbers, and a few can manage crude, short-distance gliding on rib-supported "wings". Most are carnivores, feeding on invertebrate and small vertebrate prey, but others feed on vegetation. [ Macmillan Illustrated Animal Encyclopedia ] Loki, or Lopt, is described in Snorri's _Edda_ as being "pleasing and handsome in appearance, evil in character, and very capricious in behaviour". He is the son of the giant Farbauti and of Laufey. Loki is the Norse god of cunning, evil, thieves, and fire. He hated the other gods and wanted to ruin them and overthrow the universe. He committed many murders. As a thief, he stole Freyja's necklace, Thor's belt and gauntlets of power, and the apples of youth. Able to shapechange at will, he is said to have impersonated at various times a mare, flea, fly, falcon, seal, and an old crone. As a mare he gave birth to Odin's horse Sleipnir. He also allegedly sired the serpent Midgard, the mistress of the netherworld, Hel, and the wolf Fenrir, who will devour the sun at Ragnarok. Lord Carnarvon was a personality who could have been produced nowhere but in England, a mixture of sportsman and collector, gentleman and world traveler, a realist in action and a romantic in feeling. ... In 1903 he went for the first time to Egypt in search of a mild climate and while there visited the excavation sites of several archaeological expeditions. ... In 1906 he began his own excavations. [ Gods, Graves, and Scholars, by C. W. Ceram ] Lord Sato was the family head of the Taro Clan, and a mighty daimyo. He is a loyal servant of the Emperor, and will do everything in his power to further the imperial cause. Yet first was the world in the southern region, which was named Muspell; it is light and hot; that region is glowing and burning, and impassable to such as are outlanders and have not their holdings there. He who sits there at the land's-end, to defend the land, is called Surtr; he brandishes a flaming sword, and at the end of the world he shall go forth and harry, and overcome all the gods, and burn all the world with fire. [ The Prose Edda, by Snorri Sturluson ] Lugh, or Lug, was the sun god of the Irish Celts. One of his weapons was a rod-sling which worshippers sometimes saw in the sky as a rainbow. As a tribal god, he was particularly skilled in the use of his massive, invincible spear, which fought on its own accord. One of his epithets is _lamfhada_ (of the long arm). He was a young and apparently more attractive deity than Dagda, the father of the gods. Being able to shapeshift, his name translates as lynx. These dungeon scavengers are very adept at blending into the surrounding walls and ceilings of the dungeon due to the stone-like coloring of their skin. In 1573, the Parliament of Dole published a decree, permitting the inhabitants of the Franche-Comte to pursue and kill a were-wolf or loup-garou, which infested that province, "notwithstanding the existing laws concerning the chase." The people were empowered to "assemble with javelins, halberds, pikes, arquebuses and clubs, to hunt and pursue the said were-wolf in all places where they could find it, and to take, burn, and kill it, without incurring any fine or other penalty." The hunt seems to have been successful, if we may judge from the fact that the same tribunal in the following year condemned to be burned a man named Giles Garnier, who ran on all fours in the forest and fields and devoured little children, "even on Friday." The poor lycanthrope, it appears, had as slight respect for ecclesiastical feasts as the French pig, which was not restrained by any feeling of piety from eating infants on a fast day. [ The History of Vampires, by Dudley Wright ] This powerful mirror was created by Merlin, the druid, in ages past, when trees sang and rocks danced. It protects all who carry it from magic missiles, and gives them ESP. It is rumoured that these strange creatures can be harmed by domesticated canines only. Normally called Manannan, Ler's son was the patron of merchants and sailors. Manannan had a sword which never failed to slay, a boat which propelled itself wherever its owner wished, a horse which was swifter than the wind, and magic armour which no sword could pierce. He later became god of the sea, beneath which he lived in Tir na nOc, the underworld. The gnats of the dungeon, these swarming monsters are rarely seen alone. First insisting on recognition as supreme commander, Marduk defeated the Dragon, cut her body in two, and from it created heaven and earth, peopling the world with human beings who not unnaturally showed intense gratitude for their lives. The gods were also properly grateful, invested him with many titles, and eventually permitted themselves to be embodied in him, so that he became supreme god, plotting the whole course of known life from the paths of the planets to the daily events in the lives of men. [ The Immortals, by Derek and Julia Parker ] The marilith has a torso shaped like that of a human female, and the lower body of a great snake. It has multiple arms, and can freely attack with all of them. Since it is intelligent enough to use weapons, this means it can cause great damage. He strolled down the stairs, followed by a number of assassins. When he was directly in front of Ymor he said: "I've come for the tourist." ... "One step more and you'll leave here with fewer eyeballs than you came with," said the thiefmaster. "So sit down and have a drink, Zlorf, and let's talk about this sensibly. _I_ thought we had an agreement. You don't rob -- I don't kill. Not for payment, that is," he added after a pause. Zlorf took the proffered beer. "So?" he said. "I'll kill him. Then you rob him. Is he that funny looking one over there?" "Yes." Zlorf stared at Twoflower, who grinned at him. He shrugged. He seldom wasted time wondering why people wanted other people dead. It was just a living. "Who is your client, may I ask?" said Ymor. Zlorf held up a hand. "Please!" he protested. "Professional etiquette." [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] This skeleton key was fashioned in ages past and imbued with a powerful magic which allows it to open any lock. When carried, it grants its owner warning, teleport control, and reduces all physical damage by half. Finally, when invoked, it has the ability to disarm any trap. There was a flutter of wings at the window. Ymor shifted his bulk out of the chair and crossed the room, coming back with a large raven. After he'd unfastened the message capsule from its leg it flew up to join its fellows lurking among the rafters. Withel regarded it without love. Ymor's ravens were notoriously loyal to their master, to the extent that Withel's one attempt to promote himself to the rank of greatest thief in Ankh-Morpork had cost their master's right hand man his left eye. But not his life, however. Ymor never grudged a man his ambitions. [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] Medusa, one of the three Gorgons or Graeae, is the only one of her sisters to have assumed mortal form and inhabited the dungeon world. When Perseus was grown up Polydectes sent him to attempt the conquest of Medusa, a terrible monster who had laid waste the country. She was once a beautiful maiden whose hair was her chief glory, but as she dared to vie in beauty with Minerva, the goddess deprived her of her charms and changed her beautiful ringlets into hissing serpents. She became a cruel monster of so frightful an aspect that no living thing could behold her without being turned into stone. All around the cavern where she dwelt might be seen the stony figures of men and animals which had chanced to catch a glimpse of her and had been petrified with the sight. Perseus, favoured by Minerva and Mercury, the former of whom lent him her shield and the latter his winged shoes, approached Medusa while she slept and taking care not to look directly at her, but guided by her image reflected in the bright shield which he bore, he cut off her head and gave it to Minerva, who fixed it in the middle of her Aegis. [ Bulfinch's Mythology, by Thomas Bulfinch ] The ancestors of the modern day chameleon, these creatures can assume the form of anything in their surroundings. They may assume the shape of objects or dungeon features. Unlike the chameleon though, which assumes the shape of another creature and goes in hunt of food, the mimic waits patiently for its meals to come in search of it. This creature has a humanoid body, tentacles around its covered mouth, and three long fingers on each hand. Mind flayers are telepathic, and love to devour intelligent beings, especially humans. If they hit their victim with a tentacle, the mind flayer will slowly drain it of all intelligence, eventually killing its victim. The Minotaur was a monster, half bull, half human, the offspring of Minos' wife Pasiphae and a wonderfully beautiful bull. ... When the Minotaur was born Minos did not kill him. He had Daedalus, a great architect and inventor, construct a place of confinement for him from which escape was impossible. Daedalus built the Labyrinth, famous throughout the world. Once inside, one would go endlessly along its twisting paths without ever finding the exit. [ Mythology, by Edith Hamilton ] Originating in India (Mitra), Mithra is a god of light who was translated into the attendant of the god Ahura Mazda in the light religion of Persia; from this he was adopted as the Roman deity Mithras. He is not generally regarded as a sky god but a personification of the fertilizing power of warm, light air. According to the _Avesta_, he possesses 10,000 eyes and ears and rides in a chariot drawn by white horses. Mithra, according to Zarathustra, is concerned with the endless battle between light and dark forces: he represents truth. He is responsible for the keeping of oaths and contracts. He is attributed with the creation of both plants and animals. His chief adversary is Ahriman, the power of darkness. [ The Encyclopaedia of Myths and Legends of All Nations, by Herbert Spencer Robinson and Knox Wilson ] _Mithril_! All folk desired it. It could be beaten like copper, and polished like glass; and the Dwarves could make of it a metal, light and yet harder than tempered steel. Its beauty was like to that of common silver, but the beauty of _mithril_ did not tarnish or grow dim. [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] This helm of brilliance performs all of the normal functions of a helm of brilliance, but also has the ability to protect anyone who carries it from fire. When invoked, it boosts the energy of the invoker, allowing them to cast more spells. Forged by the dwarves Eitri and Brokk, in response to Loki's challenge, Mjollnir is an indestructible war hammer. It has two magical properties: when thrown it always returned to Thor's hand; and it could be made to shrink in size until it could fit inside Thor's shirt. Its only flaw is that it has a short handle. The other gods judged Mjollnir the winner of the contest because, of all the treasures created, it alone had the power to protect them from the giants. As the legends surrounding Mjollnir grew, it began to take on the quality of "vigja", or consecration. Thor used it to consecrate births, weddings, and even to raise his goats from the dead. In the Norse mythologies Mjollnir is considered to represent Thor's governance over the entire cycle of life - fertility, birth, destruction, and resurrection. Mold, multicellular organism of the division Fungi, typified by plant bodies composed of a network of cottony filaments. The colors of molds are due to spores borne on the filaments. Most molds are saprophytes. Some species (e.g., penicillium) are used in making cheese and antibiotics. [ The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia ] And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people. [ Leviticus 20:1-5 ] ... the Mumak of Harad was indeed a beast of vast bulk, and the like of him does not walk now in Middle-Earth; his kin that live still in latter days are but memories of his girth and majesty. On he came, ... his great legs like trees, enormous sail-like ears spread out, long snout upraised like a huge serpent about to strike, his small red eyes raging. His upturned hornlike tusks ... dripped with blood. [ The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] But for an account of the manner in which the body was bandaged, and a list of the unguents and other materials employed in the process, and the words of power which were spoken as each bandage was laid in its place, we must have recourse to a very interesting papyrus which has been edited and translated by M. Maspero under the title of Le Rituel de l'Embaumement. ... Everything that could be done to preserve the body was now done, and every member of it was, by means of the words of power which changed perishable substances into imperishable, protected to all eternity; when the final covering of purple or white linen had been fastened upon it, the body was ready for the tomb. [ Egyptian Magic, by E.A. Wallis Budge ] He held a white cloth -- it was a serviette he had brought with him -- over the lower part of his face, so that his mouth and jaws were completely hidden, and that was the reason for his muffled voice. But it was not that which startled Mrs. Hall. It was the fact that all his forehead above his blue glasses was covered by a white bandage, and that another covered his ears, leaving not a scrap of his face exposed excepting only his pink, peaked nose. It was bright, pink, and shiny just as it had been at first. He wore a dark-brown velvet jacket with a high, black, linen- lined collar turned up about his neck. The thick black hair, escaping as it could below and between the cross bandages, project in curious tails and horns, giving him the strangest appearance conceivable. [ The Invisible Man, by H.G. Wells ] The naga is a mystical creature with the body of a snake and the head of a man or woman. They will fiercely protect the territory they consider their own. Some nagas can be forced to serve as guardians by a spellcaster of great power. A Japanese pole-arm, fitted with a curved single-edged blade. The blades ranged in length from two to four feet, mounted on shafts about four to five feet long. The naginata were cut with a series of short grooves near to the tang, above which the back edge was thinned, but not sharpened, so that the greater part of the blade was a flattened diamond shape in section. Seen in profile, the curve is slight or non- existent near the tang, becoming more pronounced towards the point. "With his naginata he killed five, but with the sixth it snapped asunder in the midst and, flinging it away, he drew his sword, wielding it in the zigzag style, the interlacing, cross, reversed dragonfly, waterwheel, and eight-sides-at- once styles of fencing and cutting down eight men; but as he brought down the ninth with a mighty blow on the helmet, the blade snapped at the hilt." [Story of Tsutsui no Jomio Meishu from Tales of Heike] Not only do these demons do physical damage with their claws and bite, but they are capable of using magic as well. Nalzok is Moloch's cunning and unfailingly loyal battle lieutenant, to whom he trusts the command of warfare when he does not wish to exercise it himself. Nalzok is a major demon, known to command the undead. He is hungry for power, and secretly covets Moloch's position. Moloch doesn't trust him, but, trusting his own power enough, chooses to allow Nalzok his position because he is useful. 1. Valley between Duesseldorf and Elberfeld in Germany, where an ancient skull of a prehistoric ancestor to modern man was found. 2. Human(oid) of the race mentioned above. (kinds of) small animal, like a lizard, which spends most of its time in the water. [ Oxford's Student's Dictionary of Current English ] "Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg and howlet's wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble." [ Macbeth, by William Shakespeare ] A Japanese broadsword. The Norns were the three Norse Fates, or the goddesses of fate. Female giants, they brought the wonderful Golden Age to an end. They cast lots over the cradle of every child that was born, and placed gifts in the cradle. Their names were Urda, Verdandi, and Skuld, representing the past, the present, and the future. Urda and Verdandi were kindly disposed, but Skuld was cruel and savage. Their tasks were to sew the web of fate, to water the sacred ash, Yggdrasil, and to keep it in good condition by placing fresh earth around it daily. In her fury, Skuld often spoiled the work of her sisters by tearing the web to shreds. [ The Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends of All Nations by Herbert Spencer Robinson and Knox Wilson ] A Japanese flail. A female creature from Roman and Greek mythology, the nymph occupied rivers, forests, ponds, etc. A nymph's beauty is beyond words: an ever-young woman with sleek figure and long, thick hair, radiant skin and perfect teeth, full lips and gentle eyes. A nymph's scent is delightful, and her long robe glows, hemmed with golden threads and embroidered with rainbow hues of unearthly magnificence. A nymph's demeanour is graceful and charming, her mind quick and witty. "Theseus felt her voice pulling him down into fathoms of sleep. The song was the skeleton of his dream, and the dream was full of terror. Demon girls were after him, and a bull- man was goring him. Everywhere there was blood. There was pain. There was fear. But his head was in the nymph's lap and her musk was about him, her voice weaving the dream. He knew then that she had been sent to tell him of something dreadful that was to happen to him later. Her song was a warning. But she had brought him a new kind of joy, one that made him see everything differently. The boy, who was to become a hero, suddenly knew then what most heroes learn later -- and some too late -- that joy blots suffering and that the road to nymphs is beset by monsters." [ The Minotaur by Bernard Evslin ] Also called Sigtyr (god of Victory), Val-father (father of the slain), One-Eyed, Hanga-god (god of the hanged), Farma- god (god of cargoes), Hapta-god (god of prisoners), and Othin. He is the prime god of the Norsemen: god of war and victory, wisdom and prophecy, poetry, the dead, air and wind, hospitality, and magic. As the god of war and victory, Odin is ruler of the Valkyries, warrior-maidens who lived in the halls of Valhalla in Asgard, the hall of dead heroes where he held his court. These chosen ones will defend the realm of the gods against the Frost Giants on the final day of reckoning, Ragnarok. As god of the wind, Odin rides through the air on his eight- footed horse, Sleipnir, wielding Gungner, his spear, normally accompanied by his ravens, Hugin and Munin, who he would also use as his spies. As a god of hospitality, he enjoys visiting the earth in disguise to see how people were behaving and to see how they would treat him, not knowing who he was. Odin is usually represented as a one-eyed wise old man with a long white beard and a wide-brimmed hat (he gave one of his eyes to Mimir, the guardian of the well of wisdom in Hel, in exchange for a draught of knowledge). Anyone who has met a gluttonous, nude, angry ogre, will not easily forget this encounter -- if he survives it at all. Both male and female ogres can easily grow as tall as three metres. Build and facial expressions would remind one of a Neanderthal. Its small, pointy, keen teeth are striking. Since ogres avoid direct sunlight, their ragged, unfurry skin is as white as a sheet. They enjoy coating their body with lard and usually wear nothing but a loin-cloth. An elf would smell its rancid stench at ten metres distance. Ogres are solitary creatures: very rarely one may encounter a female with two or three young. They are the only real carnivores among the humanoids, and its favourite meal is -- not surprisingly -- human flesh. They sometimes ally with orcs or goblins, but only when they anticipate a good meaty meal. [ het Boek van de Regels; Het Oog des Meesters ] But at the end of the Third Age a troll-race not before seen appeared in southern Mirkwood and in the mountain borders of Mordor. Olog-hai they were called in the Black Speech. That Sauron bred them none doubted, though from what stock was not known. Some held that they were not Trolls but giant Orcs; but the Olog-hai were in fashion of body and mind quite unlike even the largest of Orc-kind, whom they far surpassed in size and power. Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race, strong, agile, fierce and cunning, but harder than stone. Unlike the older race of the Twilight they could endure the Sun.... They spoke little, and the only tongue they knew was the Black Speech of Barad-dur. [ The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] These giant amoeboid creatures look like nothing more than puddles of slime, but they both live and move, feeding on metal or wood as well as the occasional dungeon explorer to supplement their diet. Delphi under towering Parnassus, where Apollo's oracle was, plays an important part in mythology. Castalia was its sacred spring; Cephissus its river. It was held to be the center of the world, so many pilgrims came to it, from foreign countries as well as Greece. No other shrine rivaled it. The answers to the questions asked by the anxious seekers for Truth were delivered by a priestess who went into a trance before she spoke. [ Mythology, by Edith Hamilton ] This Orb is a crystal ball of exceptional powers. When carried, it grants ESP, limits damage done by spells, and protects the carrier from magic missiles. When invoked it allows the carrier to become invisible. Some say that Odin himself created this ancient crystal ball, although others argue that Loki created it and forged Odin's signature on the bottom. In any case, it is a powerful artifact. Anyone who carries it is granted the gift of warning, and damage, both spell and physical, is partially absorbed by the orb itself. When invoked it has the power to teleport the invoker between levels. The Great Goblin gave a truly awful howl of rage when he looked at it, and all his soldiers gnashed their teeth, clashed their shields, and stamped. They knew the sword at once. It had killed hundreds of goblins in its time, when the fair elves of Gondolin hunted them in the hills or did battle before their walls. They had called it Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver, but the goblins called it simply Biter. They hated it and hated worse any one that carried it. [ The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] Orcus, Prince of the Undead, has a ram's head and a poison stinger. He is most feared, though, for his powerful magic abilities. His wand causes death to those he chooses. Orcs, bipeds with a humanoid appearance, are related to the goblins, but much bigger and more dangerous. The average orc is only moderately intelligent, has broad, muscled shoulders, a short neck, a sloping forehead and a thick, dark fur. Their lower eye-teeth are pointing forward, like a boar's. Female orcs are more lightly built and bare-chested. Not needing any clothing, they do like to dress in variegated apparels. Suspicious by nature, orcs live in tribes or hordes. They tend to live underground as well as above ground (but they dislike sunlight). Orcs can use all weapons, tools and armours that are used by men. Since they don't have the talent to fashion these themselves, they are constantly hunting for them. There is nothing a horde of orcs cannot use. [ het Boek van de Regels; Het Oog des Meesters ] The osaku is a small tool for picking locks. Owlbears are probably the crossbreed creation of a demented wizard; given the lethal nature of this creation, it is quite likely the wizard who created them is no longer alive. As the name might already suggest, owlbears are a cross between a giant owl and a bear. They are covered with fur and feathers. The elves of long ago created this powerful crystal ball. When carried, it grants ESP, regeneration, and reduces all damage caused by spells to one-half of what it would have normally been. When invoked, it tames creatures in its vicinity. Ye Piercer doth look like unto a stalactyte, and hangeth from the roofs of caves and caverns. Unto the height of a man, and thicker than a man's thigh do they grow, and in groups do they hang. If a creature doth pass beneath them, they will by its heat and noise perceive it, and fall upon it to kill and devour it, though in any other way they move but exceeding slow. [ the Bestiary of Xygag ] Pit fiends are among the more powerful of devils, capable of attacking twice with weapons as well as grabbing and crushing the life out of those unwary enough to enter their domains. This is an ancient artifact made of an unknown material. It is rectangular in shape, very thin, and inscribed with unreadable ancient runes. When carried, it grants the one who carries it ESP, and reduces all physical damage done to the carrier by half. It also protects from magic missile attacks. Finally, its power is such that when invoked, it can charge other objects. Poseido(o)n, lord of the seas and father of rivers and fountains, was the son of Chronos and Rhea, brother of Zeus, Hades, Hera, Hestia and Demeter. His rank of ruler of the waves he received by lot at the Council Meeting of the Gods, at which Zeus took the upper world for himself and gave dominion over the lower world to Hades. Poseidon is associated in many ways with horses and thus is the god of horses. He taught men how to ride and manage the animal he invented and is looked upon as the originator and guardian deity of horse races. His symbol is the familiar trident or three-pronged spear with which he can split rocks, cause or quell storms, and shake the earth, a power which makes him the god of earthquakes as well. Physically, he is shown as a strong and powerful ruler, every inch a king. [ The Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends of All Nations, by Herbert Robinson and Knox Wilson ] Known under various names (Nu, Neph, Cenubis, Amen-Kneph, Khery-Bakef), Ptah is the creator god and god of craftsmen. He is usually depicted as wearing a closely fitting robe with only his hands free. His most distinctive features are the invariable skull-cap exposing only his face and ears, and the _was_ or rod of domination which he holds, consisting of a staff surmounted by the _ankh_ symbol of life. He is otherwise symbolized by his sacred animal, the bull. A gargantuan version of the harmless rain-worm, the purple worm poses a huge threat to the ordinary adventurer. It is known to swallow whole and digest its victims within only a few minutes. These worms are always on guard, sensitive to the most minute vibrations in the earth, but may also be awakened by a remote shriek. The woodlands and other regions are inhabited by multitudes of four-legged creatures which cannot be simply classified. They might not have fiery breath or deadly stings, but adventurers have nevertheless met their end numerous times due to the claws, hooves, or bites of such animals. These creatures are not native to this universe; they seem to have strangely derived powers, and unknown motives. Quasits are small, evil creatures, related to imps. Their talons release a very toxic poison when used in an attack. One of the principal Aztec-Toltec gods was the great and wise Quetzalcoatl, who was called Kukumatz in Guatemala, and Kukulcan in Yucatan. His image, the plumed serpent, is found on both the oldest and the most recent Indian edifices. ... The legend tells how the Indian deity Quetzalcoatl came from the "Land of the Rising Sun". He wore a long white robe and had a beard; he taught the people crafts and customs and laid down wise laws. He created an empire in which the ears of corn were as long as men are tall, and caused bolls of colored cotton to grow on cotton plants. But for some reason or other he had to leave his empire. ... But all the legends of Quetzalcoatl unanimously agree that he promised to come again. [ Gods, Graves, and Scholars, by C. W. Ceram ] The god of thunder. Rats are long-tailed rodents. They are aggressive, omnivorous, and adaptable, often carrying diseases. A rock mole is a member of the rodent family. They get their name from their ability to tunnel through rock in the same fashion that a mole tunnels through earth. They are known to eat anything they come across in their diggings, although it is still unknown how they convert some of these things into something of nutritional value. I understand the business, I hear it: to have an open ear, a quick eye, and a nimble hand, is necessary for a cut-purse; a good nose is requisite also, to smell out work for the other senses. I see this is the time that the unjust man doth thrive. <...> The prince himself is about a piece of iniquity, stealing away from his father with his clog at his heels: if I thought it were a piece of honesty to acquaint the king withal, I would not do't: I hold it the more knavery to conceal it; and therein am I constant to my profession. [ Autolycus the Rogue, from The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare ] The rothe (pronounced roth-AY) is a musk ox-like creature with an aversion to light. It prefers to live underground near lichen and moss. These strange creatures live on a diet of metals. They can turn a suit of armour into so much useless rusted scrap in no time at all. Japanese rice wine. For hundreds of years, many people believed that salamanders were magical. In England in the Middle Ages, people thought that fire created salamanders. When they set fire to damp logs, dozens of the slimy creatures scurried out. The word salamander, in fact, comes from a Greek word meaning "fire animal". [ Salamanders, by Cherie Winner ] An ape-like humanoid native to densely forested mountains, the sasquatch is also known as "bigfoot". Normally benign and rarely seen, this creature is reputed to be a relative of the ferocious yeti. This mace was created aeons ago in some unknown cave, and has been passed down from generation to generation of cave dwellers. It is a very mighty mace indeed, and in addition will protect anyone who carries it from magic missile attacks. When invoked, it causes conflict in the area around it. A sub-species of the spider (_Scorpionidae_), the scorpion distinguishes itself from them by having a lower body that ends in a long, jointed tail tapering to a poisonous stinger. They have eight legs and pincers. [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] Shades are undead creatures. They differ from zombies in that a zombie is an undead animation of a corpse, while a shade is an undead creature magically created by the use of black magic. Making his quarters in the Caves of the Ancestors, Shaman Karnov unceasingly tries to shield his neanderthal people from Tiamat's minions' harassments. The Chinese god of Mountains and Seas, also the name of an old book (also Shan Hai Tjing), the book of mountains and seas - which deals with the monster Kung Kung trying to seize power from Yao, the fourth emperor. [ Spectrum Atlas van de Mythologie ] A Japanese stabbing knife. A skeleton is a magically animated undead creature. Unlike shades, only a humanoid creature can be used to create a skeleton. No one knows why this is true, but it has become an accepted fact amongst the practitioners of the black arts. "That dog belonged to a settler who tried to build his cabin on the bank of the river a few miles south of the fort," grunted Conan. ... "We took him to the fort and dressed his wounds, but after he recovered he took to the woods and turned wild. -- What now, Slasher, are you hunting the men who killed your master?" ... "Let him come," muttered Conan. "He can smell the devils before we can see them." ... Slasher cleared the timbers with a bound and leaped into the bushes. They were violently shaken and then the dog slunk back to Balthus' side, his jaws crimson. ... "He was a man," said Conan. "I drink to his shade, and to the shade of the dog, who knew no fear." He quaffed part of the wine, then emptied the rest upon the floor, with a curious heathen gesture, and smashed the goblet. "The heads of ten Picts shall pay for this, and seven heads for the dog, who was a better warrior than many a man." [ Conan The Warrior, by Robert E Howard ] Slime mold or slime fungus, organism usually classified with the fungi, but showing equal affinity to the protozoa. Slime molds have complex life cycles with an animal-like motile phase, in which feeding and growth occur, and a plant-like immotile reproductive phase. The motile phase, commonly found under rotting logs and damp leaves, consists of either solitary amoebalike cells or a brightly colored multinucleate mass of protoplasm called a plasmodium, which creeps about and feeds by amoeboid movement. [ The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia ] Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cat- tle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. [ Genesis 3:1-6,13-15 ] Ah, never shall I forget the cry, or the shriek that shrieked he, As I gnashed my teeth, and from my sheath I drew my Snickersnee! --Koko, Lord high executioner of Titipu [ The Mikado, by Sir W.S. Gilbert ] The soldiers of Yendor are well-trained in the art of war, many trained by the Wizard himself. Some say the soldiers are explorers who were unfortunate enough to be captured, and put under the Wizard's spell. Those who have survived encounters with soldiers say they travel together in platoons, and are fierce fighters. Because of the load of their combat gear, however, one can usually run away from them, and doing so is considered a wise thing. The elven god of hunting and wilderness skills. His followers honor him by excelling at archery. Eight legged creature capable of spinning webs to trap pray. This staff is considered sacred to all healers, as it truly holds the powers of life and death. When wielded, it protects its user from all life draining attacks, and additionally gives the wielder the power of regeneration. When invoked it performs healing magic. Then it appeared in Paris at just about the time that Paris was full of Carlists who had to get out of Spain. One of them must have brought it with him, but, whoever he was, it's likely he knew nothing about its real value. It had been -- no doubt as a precaution during the Carlist trouble in Spain -- painted or enameled over to look like nothing more than a fairly interesting black statuette. And in that disguise, sir, it was, you might say, kicked around Paris for seventy years by private owners and dealers too stupid to see what it was under the skin. [ The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett ] There was the usual dim grey light of the forest-day about him when he came to his senses. The spider lay dead beside him, and his sword-blade was stained black. Somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone and by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else, made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach, as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back into its sheath. "I will give you a name," he said to it, "and I shall call you Sting." [ The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] The Shinto chthonic and weather god and brother of the sun goddess Amaterasu, he was born from the nose of the primordial creator god Izanagi and represents the physical, material world. He has been expelled from heaven and taken up residence on earth. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] Samurai plate armor of the Yamato period (AD 300 - 710). The tengu was the most troublesome creature of Japanese legend. Part bird and part man, with red beak for a nose and flashing eyes, the tengu was notorious for stirring up feuds and prolonging enmity between families. Indeed, the belligerent tengus were supposed to have been man's first instructors in the use of arms. [Mythical Beasts by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library)] The Egyptian god of the moon and wisdom, Thoth is the patron deity of scribes and of knowledge, including scientific, medical and mathematical writing, and is said to have given mankind the art of hieroglyphic writing. He is important as a mediator and counsellor amongst the gods and is the scribe of the Heliopolis Ennead pantheon. According to mythology, he was born from the head of the god Seth. He may be depicted in human form with the head of an ibis, wholly as an ibis, or as a seated baboon sometimes with its torso covered in feathers. His attributes include a crown which consists of a crescent moon surmounted by a moon disc. Thoth is generally regarded as a benign deity. He is also scrupulously fair and is responsible not only for entering in the record the souls who pass to afterlife, but of adjudicating in the Hall of the Two Truths. The Pyramid Texts reveal a violent side of his nature by which he decapitates the adversaries of truth and wrenches out their hearts. [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] Men say that he [Thutothmes] has opposed Thoth-Amon, who is master of all priests of Set, and dwells in Luxor, and that Thutothmes seeks hidden power [The Heart of Ahriman] to overthrow the Great One. [ Conan the Conqueror, by Robert E. Howard ] 1. A well-known tropical predator (_Felis tigris_): a feline. It has a yellowish skin with darker spots or stripes. 2. Figurative: _a paper tiger_, something that is meant to scare, but has no really scaring effect whatsoever, (after a statement by Mao Ze Dong, August 1946). [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] Gaea, mother earth, arose from the Chaos and gave birth to Uranus, heaven, who became her consort. Uranus hated all their children, because he feared they might challenge his own authority. Those children, the Titans, the Gigantes, and the Cyclops, were banished to the nether world. Their enraged mother eventually released the youngest titan, Chronos (time), and encouraged him to castrate his father and rule in his place. Later, he too was challenged by his own son, Zeus, and he and his fellow titans were ousted from Mount Olympus. [ Greek Mythology, by Richard Patrick ] The road from Ankh-Morpork to Chrim is high, white and winding, a thirty-league stretch of potholes and half-buried rocks that spirals around mountains and dips into cool green valleys of citrus trees, crosses liana-webbed gorges on creaking rope bridges and is generally more picturesque than useful. Picturesque. That was a new word to Rincewind the wizard (BMgc, Unseen University [failed]). It was one of a number he had picked up since leaving the charred ruins of Ankh-Morpork. Quaint was another one. Picturesque meant -- he decided after careful observation of the scenery that inspired Twoflower to use the word -- that the landscape was horribly precipitous. Quaint, when used to describe the occasional village through which they passed, meant fever- ridden and tumbledown. Twoflower was a tourist, the first ever seen on the discworld. Tourist, Rincewind had decided, meant "idiot". [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] The trapper is a creature which has evolved a chameleon-like ability to blend into the dungeon surroundings. It captures its prey by remaining very still and blending into the surrounding dungeon features, until an unsuspecting creature passes by. It wraps itself around its prey and digests it. If you start from scratch, cooking tripe is a long-drawn-out affair. Fresh whole tripe calls for a minimum of 12 hours of cooking, some time-honored recipes demanding as much as 24. To prepare fresh tripe, trim if necessary. Wash it thoroughly, soaking overnight, and blanch, for 1/2 hour in salted water. Wash well again, drain and cut for cooking. When cooked, the texture of tripe should be like that of soft gristle. More often, alas, because the heat has not been kept low enough, it has the consistency of wet shoe leather. [ Joy of Cooking, by I Rombauer and M Becker ] The troll shambled closer. He was perhaps eight feet tall, perhaps more. His forward stoop, with arms dangling past thick claw-footed legs to the ground, made it hard to tell. The hairless green skin moved upon his body. His head was a gash of a mouth, a yard-long nose, and two eyes which drank the feeble torchlight and never gave back a gleam. [...] Like a huge green spider, the troll's severed hand ran on its fingers. Across the mounded floor, up onto a log with one taloned forefinger to hook it over the bark, down again it scrambled, until it found the cut wrist. And there it grew fast. The troll's smashed head seethed and knit together. He clambered back on his feet and grinned at them. The waning faggot cast red light over his fangs. [ Three Hearts and Three Lions, by Poul Anderson ] This most ancient of swords has been passed down through the leadership of the Samurai legions for hundreds of years. It is said to grant luck to its wielder, but its main power is terrible to behold. It has the capability to cut in half any creature it is wielded against, instantly killing them. The tsurugi, also known as the long samurai sword, is an extremely sharp, two-handed blade favored by the samurai. It is made of hardened steel, and is manufactured using a special process, causing it to never rust. The tsurugi is rumored to be so sharp that it can occasionally cut opponents in half! "Rincewind!" Twoflower sprang off the bed. The wizard jumped back, wrenching his features into a smile. "My dear chap, right on time! We'll just have lunch, and then I'm sure you've got a wonderful programme lined up for this afternoon!" "Er --" "That's great!" Rincewind took a deep breath. "Look," he said desperately, "let's eat somewhere else. There's been a bit of a fight down below." "A tavern brawl? Why didn't you wake me up?" "Well, you see, I - _what_?" "I thought I made myself clear this morning, Rincewind. I want to see genuine Morporkian life - the slave market, the Whore Pits, the Temple of Small Gods, the Beggar's Guild... and a genuine tavern brawl." A faint note of suspicion entered Twoflower's voice. "You _do_ have them, don't you? You know, people swinging on chandeliers, swordfights over the table, the sort of thing Hrun the Barbarian and the Weasel are always getting involved in. You know -- _excitement_." [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] An evil goddess, she is able to command all forms of birds to do her bidding. Yet remains that one of the Aesir who is called Tyr: he is most daring, and best in stoutness of heart, and he has much authority over victory in battle; it is good for men of valor to invoke him. It is a proverb, that he is Tyr-valiant, who surpasses other men and does not waver. He is wise, so that it is also said, that he that is wisest is Tyr-prudent. This is one token of his daring: when the Aesir enticed Fenris-Wolf to take upon him the fetter Gleipnir, the wolf did not believe them, that they would loose him, until they laid Tyr's hand into his mouth as a pledge. But when the Aesir would not loose him, then he bit off the hand at the place now called 'the wolf's joint;' and Tyr is one- handed, and is not called a reconciler of men. [ The Prose Edda, by Snorri Sturluson ] Umber hulks are powerful subterranean predators whose iron-like claws allow them to burrow through solid stone in search of prey. They are tremendously strong; muscles bulge beneath their thick, scaly hides and their powerful arms and legs all end in great claws. Men have always sought the elusive unicorn, for the single twisted horn which projected from its forehead was thought to be a powerful talisman. It was said that the unicorn had simply to dip the tip of its horn in a muddy pool for the water to become pure. Men also believed that to drink from this horn was a protection against all sickness, and that if the horn was ground to a powder it would act as an antidote to all poisons. Less than 200 years ago in France, the horn of a unicorn was used in a ceremony to test the royal food for poison. Although only the size of a small horse, the unicorn is a very fierce beast, capable of killing an elephant with a single thrust from its horn. Its fleet- ness of foot also makes this solitary creature difficult to capture. However, it can be tamed and captured by a maiden. Made gentle by the sight of a vir- gin, the unicorn can be lured to lay its head in her lap, and in this docile mood, the maiden may secure it with a golden rope. [Mythical Beasts by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library)] Martin took a small sip of beer. "Almost ready," he said. "You hold your beer awfully well." Tlingel laughed. "A unicorn's horn is a detoxicant. Its possession is a universal remedy. I wait until I reach the warm glow stage, then I use my horn to burn off any excess and keep me right there." [Unicorn Variations by Roger Zelazny] The Valkyries were the thirteen choosers of the slain, the beautiful warrior-maids of Odin who rode through the air and over the sea. They watched the progress of the battle and selected the heroes who were to fall fighting. After they were dead, the maidens rewarded the heroes by kissing them and then led their souls to Valhalla, where the warriors lived happily in an ideal existence, drinking and eating without restraint and fighting over again the battles in which they died and in which they had won their deathless fame. [ The Encyclopaedia of Myths and Legends of All Nations, by Herbert Robinson and Knox Wilson ] The Oxford English Dictionary is quite unequivocal: _vampire_ - "a preternatural being of a malignant nature (in the original and usual form of the belief, a reanimated corpse), supposed to seek nourishment, or do harm, by sucking the blood of sleeping persons. ..." Vlad Dracula the Impaler was a 15th-Century monarch of the Birgau region of the Carpathian Mountains, in what is now Romania. In Romanian history he is best known for two things. One was his skilled handling of the Ottoman Turks, which kept them from making further inroads into Christian Europe. The other was the ruthless manner in which he ran his fiefdom. He dealt with perceived challengers to his rule by impaling them upright on wooden stakes. Visiting dignitaries who failed to doff their hats had them nailed to their head. Swirling clouds of pure elemental energies, the vortices are thought to be related to the larger elementals. Though the vortices do no damage when touched, they are noted for being able to envelop unwary travellers. The hapless fool thus swallowed by a vortex will soon perish from exposure to the element the vortex is composed of. The vrock is one of the weaker forms of demon. It resembles a cross between a human being and a vulture and does physical damage by biting and by using the claws on both its arms and feet. The samurai warrior traditionally wears two swords; the wakizashi is the shorter of the two. See also katana. Suddenly Aragorn leapt to his feet. "How the wind howls!" he cried. "It is howling with wolf-voices. The Wargs have come west of the Mountains!" "Need we wait until morning then?" said Gandalf. "It is as I said. The hunt is up! Even if we live to see the dawn, who now will wish to journey south by night with the wild wolves on his trail?" "How far is Moria?" asked Boromir. "There was a door south-west of Caradhras, some fifteen miles as the crow flies, and maybe twenty as the wolf runs," answered Gandalf grimly. "Then let us start as soon as it is light tomorrow, if we can," said Boromir. "The wolf that one hears is worse then the orc that one fears." "True!" said Aragorn, loosening his sword in its sheath. "But where the warg howls, there also the orc prowls." [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] When he came to himself again, for a moment he could recall nothing except a sense of dread. Then suddenly he knew that he was imprisoned, caught hopelessly; he was in a barrow. A Barrow-wight had taken him, and he was probably already under the dreadful spells of the Barrow-wights about which whispered tales spoke. He dared not move, but lay as he found himself: flat on his back upon a cold stone with his hands on his breast. [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] The Wizard of Balance holds office in his hidden tower, only reachable by magical means, where he teaches his apprentices the enigmatic skills of occultism. He considers himself a guardian of the equilibrium of the universe, and goes out of his way to promote stability. No one knows how old this mighty wizard is, or from whence he came. It is known that, having lived a span far greater than any normal man's, he grew weary of lesser mortals; and so, spurning all human company, he forsook the dwellings of men and went to live in the depths of the Earth. He took with him a dreadful artifact, the Book of the Dead, which is said to hold great power indeed. Many have sought to find the wizard and his treasure, but none have found him and lived to tell the tale. Woe be to the incautious adventurer who disturbs this mighty sorcerer! The ancestors of the modern day domestic dog, wolves are powerful muscular animals with bushy tails. Intelligent, social animals, wolves live in family groups or packs made up of multiple family units. These packs cooperate in hunting down prey. [The crysknife] is manufactured in two forms from teeth taken from dead sandworms. The two forms are "fixed" and "unfixed". An unfixed knife requires proximity to a human body's electrical field to prevent disintegration. Fixed knives are treated for storage. All are about 20 centimeters long. [ Dune, by Frank Herbert ] Immediately, though everything else remained as before, dim and dark, the shapes became terribly clear. He was able to see beneath their black wrappings. There were five tall figures: two standing on the lip of the dell, three advancing. In their white faces burned keen and merciless eyes; under their mantles were long grey robes; upon their grey hairs were helms of silver; in their haggard hands were swords of steel. Their eyes fell on him and pierced him, as they rushed towards him. Desperate, he drew his own sword, and it seemed to him that it flickered red, as if it was a firebrand. Two of the figures halted. The third was taller than the others: his hair was long and gleaming and on his helm was a crown. In one hand he held a long sword, and in the other a knife; both the knife and the hand that held it glowed with a pale light. He sprang forward and bore down on Frodo. [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] The Wumpus, by the way, is not bothered by the hazards since he has sucker feet and is too big for a bat to lift. If you try to shoot him and miss, there's also a chance that he'll up and move himself into another cave, though by nature the Wumpus is a sedentary creature. [ wump (6) -- "Hunt the Wumpus" ] They sent their friend the mosquito [xan] ahead of them to find out what lay ahead. "Since you are the one who sucks the blood of men walking along paths," they told the mosquito, "go and sting the men of Xibalba." The mosquito flew down the dark road to the Underworld. Entering the house of the Lords of Death, he stung the first person that he saw... The mosquito stung this man as well, and when he yelled, the man next to him asked, "Gathered Blood, what's wrong?" So he flew along the row stinging all the seated men until he knew the names of all twelve. [ Popul Vuh, as translated by Ralph Nelson ] A distant cousin of the earth elemental, the xorn has the ability to shift the cells of its body around in such a way that it becomes porous to inert material. This gives it the ability to pass through any obstacle that might be between it and its next meal. The arrow of choice of the samurai, ya are made of very straight bamboo, and are tipped with hardened steel. Yeenoghu, the demon lord of gnolls, still exists although all his followers have been wiped off the face of the earth. He casts magic projectiles at those close to him, and a mere gaze into his piercing eyes may hopelessly confuse the battle-weary adventurer. An ape-like humanoid native to inaccessible mountain tops, the yeti is also known as "the abominable snowman". Whether or not the title "man" is appropriate remains unknown. Japanese leather archery gloves. Gloves made for use while practicing had thumbs reinforced with horn. Those worn into battle had thumbs reinforced with a double layer of leather. The samurai is highly trained with a special type of bow, the yumi. Like the ya, the yumi is made of bamboo. With the yumi-ya, the bow and arrow, the samurai is an extremely accurate and deadly warrior. The zombi... is a soulless human corpse, still dead, but taken from the grave and endowed by sorcery with a mechanical semblance of life, -- it is a dead body which is made to walk and act and move as if it were alive. [ W. B. Seabrook ] The zruty are wild and gigantic beings, living in the wildernesses of the Tatra mountains.