Summary:

The Cruciform Lily is a rather tall and proud plant, rising in droves from the sides of clear-water springs high within the mountains, bright pink and white petals seemingly glimmering in the light of the sun. The Cruciform Lily is a flower that is often used at funerals and other dark and dreary processions due to the strange calming and relaxing effect that the petals’ smell seems to produce. The female variants of the plant bear a cross-shaped pistil, nestled within the neck of the petals, and such is where the Cruciform Lily gains its name.

Basic Description:
The Cruciform Lily possesses a sturdy and almost wood-like stem that grows to a typical height of eight to twelve inches, possessing a few reed-like leaves that extend gracefully from the edges of the stem, upwards towards the cusp of the flowering bodies. Perched flamboyantly at the tops of the stems, the flowering bodies typically number in ones or threes, and very rarely fives; yet strangely, the plant never flowers in even numbers. A milky white, streaked with a vibrant pinkish hue along the veins of the petals, the Cruciform Lily is a pleasant bloom set amongst the rocks and vales of mountain springs. As the name suggests, the female pistil is shaped in a generally cross-shaped form, though the male stamen is simply a narrow stalk with a bulbous pollen appendage.

Rarity: Uncommon

Location:
The Cruciform Lily is most often found on the border of streams that cascade down the sides of mountains, or surrounding high altitude lakes and ponds that are fed by pure water from natural springs and aquifer wells. The nature of the plant seems to require incredibly clean groundwater and a dry, loose soil high in mineral content. Florists speak of the challenges of transplanting Cruciform Lilies, claiming that they rarely take root at any altitude below where the lilies were gathered. As with most of nature, the most beautiful place for it to remain is where it was born.

Properties:

• Possesses a strong, woody stem.
  
• Typically has one to three, and occasionally five flower blooms.
  
• The flower’s scent has a mild calming effect on those around it.
  
• Is colored predominantly white, with streaks and dots of vibrant pink.
  
• Grows only by the sides of high-altitude spring-fed water sources.
  
• Is incredibly difficult to transplant or grow anew at lower altitudes, and will not take root unless the water source is clean and flowing.
  

Special Properties:

• Crushing and refining of the Cruciform Lily petals may yield a substance prone to reducing the heart rate of a patient.
  
• Eating the petals or steeping them in a tea provides minor alleviants towards symptoms of panic, shock, and anxiety.
  

Summary:

The Ponkling is a creature as elusive and nigh comical as the name seems to suggest it to be. It is unknown as to whether or not they have given this name to themselves, but it is assumed that they have not, due to the rather small range of vocalization they are capable of. Despite being of incredibly diminutive stature, the tiny creatures bear much resemblance to the sentient races that live upon the surface, closest in fact to the Halfling and the Dwarf, given their ruddy complexion, rotund bodies and presence of a facial-hair like fur that adorns the entirety of their lower bodies. Aside from the ruminant-like horns that sprout from their head of fluffy whitish hair and a comically large nose, it could be easy to mistake a Ponkling as some form of tiny, deformed Halfling. Some High-Elven philosophers uphold a theory that the Ponkling is in fact the ultimate devolution of the Halfling, and that all halflings will in time, become a Ponkling. Of all theories, the most reasonable seems to be that the Ponkling is a foul perversion of the Matriarch’s creations by Sadys, whose influence likely took hold of the creatures long after Senhora entered her slumber.

Basic Description:
Rarely more than one foot in height, the Ponkling is a rather short and rotund creature, possessing a round body with very little differentiation between the upper and lower torso, as the facial features dominate the body to such a degree that the nose sits just barely above the locale that may be considered the midriff. Coated in a coarse grey fur that clings to the lower body in the appearance of facial hair, their legs poke out beyond the fur and end in large, bulbous red growths that possess a strange sticky texture not so dissimilar to mold or mushroom undercaps. Possessing small grey-hued eyes and a large bulbous nose, capped with two ruminant-like horns that sprout from within the fluffy white hair upon their heads, the visage of the Ponkling is truly a sight to behold. Many even consider them to be incredibly cute and cuddly, in a strange sort of way. Their hands are relatively small, but possess four digits and an opposable thumb, allowing them varied use of things such as sticks, rocks, and tools stolen from misguided explorers. The Ponkling communicates with other members of its species by a series of shrill hoots and calls that sound very similar to an untuned violin.

Rarity: Uncommon

Location:
Ponklings are found almost universally in the caves and craggy places of the world. It is less that they choose to live in these places, and more that they have found it beneficial to hide in the deep and secluded places of the world to avoid predation by the avians and other larger, wild beasts that adorn the surface. They do assemble tribes and small analogs of civilization within their caves and crevices, though the general structure of this society is more akin to an animalistic herd.

Properties:

• They are relatively small, rarely exceeding one foot in height.
  
• They are rotund, though do not exceed ten pounds in weight.
  
• They are capable of utilizing simple tools, or tools stolen from other races.
  
• At times, they will exit their domain to loot small knives and daggers from nearby towns or encampments, which they use as swords.
  
• They form simple herd-like societies, and tend to hunt in large groups of ten to twenty.
  
• Their spongy, semi-sticky foot-like protuberances can allow them to walk across sheer surfaces that would normally be impassable.
  
• They are not outwardly hostile to other species, but are opportunistic hunters and tend to isolate larger prey by luring them towards a single member of their tribe in dark and enclosed spaces. Shortly thereafter, the rest of the tribe attacks.
  

Special Properties:

• The Ponkling’s foot surfaces can be utilized as mild adhesive objects.
  
• Their bushy fur can be utilized as a form of wool, as it is quite coarse and easy to weave into strong cloth.