List of animals of the Edge Chronicles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article lists the vast array of fictional animals found in the Edge Chronicles, a series of young adult books set in a fantasy world created by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell.
For more information about the fictional world of the Edge, please see the similar article, Plants of the Edge Chronicles.
Contents |
[edit] A
- Angler - Anglers are a type of lanfish that hunt their prey by pretending to be a fruit. As soon as the creature goes to eat it the angler launches up and eats its prey.
[edit] B
- Banderbear - Banderbears are similar to bears in our world. They have a very thick coat of fur which covered with Sytil moss as well as very large tusks growing out of the bottom jaw of their mouth. They lurk in the Deepwoods, and have many convocations, allowing only their kind. Although one Banderbear seldom meets another, they keep contact by yodelling to one another at night, sharing every detail of their lives.
- Barkelves - In Stormchaser, the character Screed remembers his earlier conquests: As a rule, the travellers who passed his way journeyed in groups of their own kind. A gang of darkridge goblins, a gaggle of barkelves... It is assumed that Barkelves are relations of Oakelves.
- Barkslug - Twig makes a reference to them in the first book, on page 74 when speaking to the gloamglozer, disguised as a slaughterer. "And for stuck-up slaughterers who treat you like a hero one minute and a barkslug the next!" They are mentioned many times as items of contempt.
- Barkworm - They are mentioned in Midnight Over Sanctaphrax as minor pests that eat into old books and scrolls: "I've watched you sit there for hours, pouring over some scrap of bark, half eaten by woodmoths and barkworms..."
- Black-dwarf - In Stormchaser, the character Twig comes across all sorts of creatures in the Bloodoak Tavern: There were flat-head and hammer-head goblins.....black-dwarfs and red-dwarfs...
- Blood-Red Glister - In The Curse of the Gloamglozer, like normal glisters, it feeds off of strong human emotions and most of the time, the blood red glister in particular, feeds off humans themselves. It is about 6 feet tall.
- Brogtroll - Brogtrolls are extremely large and strong creatures, with large drooping noses, scraggly hair, and warty skin. Most Brogtrolls are very dumb and quite forgetful. Their stength and apparent lack of morals mean they usually end up as the "dumb muscle" of any gang or the obedient heavy-lifter of a sky-ship crew.
[edit] C
- Caterbird - Possibly the most amazing creatures in the whole of the Edge, Caterbirds are born in specially made cocoons that are hung in Lullabee trees. They resemble real-world Hornbills in that they have a long crest-like horn sticking out of the back of their heads. The birds are uniformly black and white. They know everything that every other Caterbird (past and present) knows, making them almost omniscient.
- Cloddertrog - Cloddertrogs are large, bulky creatures, with big lumpy noses dominating their faces. Most individuals have large fourheads, small bloodshot eyes and prominent yellow teeth. Cloddertrogs are known for their violent disposition to "outsiders", but are quite loyal to friends and family. Cloddertrogs are happy with simple, heavy-lifting jobs such as loading and unloading at port docks, and are well built for such tasks. Most Clods are also quite superstitious, tending to believe in spirits and ghosts.
- Cloudeater - A giant beast, said to be created in the ancient laboritory in "Winter Knighs", a book by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. In Winter Knights, it appears as a hauling white beast, very similar in appearance to a cloud, and it eats clouds therefor building up the whitish puss, and making it looking like a cloud. When the Cloudeater is freed it takes the appearance of a brilliant multi-colored serpent.
- Crystal Spider - Creatures living in the Gardens of Light.
[edit] D
- Darkridge Goblin - In Stormchaser, the character Screed remembers his earlier conquests: As a rule, the travellers who passed his way journeyed in groups of their own kind. A gang of darkridge goblins, a gaggle of barkelves... It can be assumed that Darkridge Goblins are part of the larger Goblin family (see also Flat-head Goblin, Hammer-head Goblin, etc)
[edit] E
- Edge Wraith - Edge Wraiths are ferocious white bat-like creatures that live low beneath the Edge. They feed on the things that are poured over the edge.
[edit] F
- Firemoth - Venomous moths that live in the Gardens of Light, but sometimes go outside into the forest.
- Flat-head Goblin - Flat-head goblins are characterised by their flat, narrow heads. Flat-heads have notoriously bad tempers and are very aggressive and warlike. In many civilized places (i.e. Undertown and Sanctaphrax) they are used as guards.
- Flitterwaif- flying waifs. Unlike many waifs, these creatures are actively carnivorous, and lead beings astray. They have, like all waifs, huge batlike ears, but also have wings and three curved fangs.
- Fromp - On Old Sanctaphrax, they were used for fighting agaist each other, while the academics betted on them. They mistreated and starved them so the would no longer be friendly creatures and fight. They have a stripy prehensile tail, curving claws, a long proboscis like a butterfly, and rabbitlike ears. Known for their comical, spluttered warning cough.
- Forthling - The equivalent of humans. They are capable of interbreeding with other bipedal races. Seldom seen and often unknown in the Deepwoods.
[edit] G
- Gabtroll - Bizarre, civilized creatures resembling bat-eared slugs. It is not known whether they are in fact related to Woodtrolls or other trolls, as they are quite different in appearance. They are known for their stalked, green eyeballs. As they wear heavy gowns all of the time, it is unclear whether or not they possess legs, as their slug-like appearance would suggest not.
- Ghostwaif - Tiny, pale waifs with very long barbels. Amberfuce was a Ghostwaif.
- Giant Fromp - Self-Explanatory. Do not cough, but are known for their deep, booming calls.
- Glister - They are the seeds of all life.You cannot look at them directly, but you can catch glimpses of them out of the corner of your eye. Sometimes they rise to the surface, and hide inside old, dark, abandoned buildings. If a glister wanders outside the stonecomb, or has a grain of chine (Stormphrax) blown on it, it will crumble into dust. They react differently to different emotions, sometimes flashing, sometimes glowing.
- Glintergoblin - In Cloud Wolf, a leaguesman called Marl Mankroyd made a deal with glinter goblins to get black jewels.
- Gladehawk - Varis Lodd named her skycraft "Gladehawk".
- Gloamglozer -It is a trickster and a shapeshifter; it can resemble any living creature, but its true form is a hideous, warty, sneering face, framed by two sinister curving horns, a featureless robe that floats above the ground, long arms and calloused hands with sharp claws. The Gloamglozer is said to feed on others' emotions, but what it craves most is fear. It does not harm you directly, since it has no physical strength, but it uses a subterfuge of lies, trickery and traps to make you harm yourself.
- Gnokgoblin - Symbite Goblins, slightly similar to Gyle Goblins. They possess huge, flat noses that take up most of their face. They are fairly common outside the Deepwoods. They usually dress similarly to Native Americans.
- Greywaif - Smooth-skinned Waifs with two short barbels. Cancaresse the Silent may have been one of these.
- Gyle Goblin - Symbite Goblins that live a colonial existence, similar to ants. They have huge, protruding noses, and skinny arms and legs. There is only one female in each colony, called a Grossmother. She is indescribably fat, and cooks honey to feed her colony.
[edit] H
- Halitoad- a large froglike reptile, noted for its poisonous breath which it uses to kill its prey.
- Hammelhorn - Hammelhorns are herd animals, and are used sort of like sheep and cows. They resemble huge mounds of shaggy hair, with a large, sad-looking face. Like the Tilder, they possess three hooves on each foot. If their long black hair is brushed up the wrong way, it bristles up and becomes extremely sharp.
- Hammer-head Goblin - From the Goblin family. Hammer-heads are similar to Flat-heads in their appearance yet their mouth and chin are nromal, but their head abruptly is stretched and their eyes are spaced very far apart.
- Hoverworm A snake like creature similar to a Logworm, about a metre in length, and has a poisonous sting. There is an antidote, which most Knight Academics carry with them.
[edit] L
- Lemkin - Small creatures which can be kept as pets. In the Deepwoods, when there is danger nearby, it lets out a screech, followed by a staccato cough to warn other Lemkins; Waa-iiiii - kha-kha-kha-kha-kha....
- Long-Haired Goblin - Humanoid Goblins with a coat of long, spiky hair. Generally warlike.
- Lop-eared Goblin - Rather peaceable Goblins. There are technically many Goblin species which fall under this grouping, such as Low-Bellies.
- Low-Belly Goblin - A type of Goblin in the Goblin Nations, not far from the Free Glades. These amiable, farming creatures will do nothing to harm people, for all they want to do is get the harvest in. They need a belly sling to support their naturally large stomach, or it would be too difficult to move around.
- Logworm - Mammoth, brown Hoverworms. Although non-venomous(?), They use powerful suction actions to engulf many prey items at once. They seem to hunt by lying motionless, mimicking a fallen tree, then chasing prey for long distances until it tires.
- Lugtroll
- Lumpskull - These are only mentioned once or twice. Very little info is present as of yet.
[edit] M
- Mewmel - In Midnight Over Sanctaphrax, the main characters encounter various animals whilst travelling through the Deepwoods: feline mewmels, with spiky tails and poisonous spit
- Milchgrub - These are gigantic, insectoid beings without overmuch intellect, bred by the Spindlebugs to provide food for the Gyle Goblins. The Spindlebugs leave huge amounts of fruit to nourish mushrooms, which the Milchgrubs eat; the food is converted into a form of honey by the Milchgrub bodies; the honey is extracted (as among ants) by the Spindlebugs, later to be fed to the Gyle Goblins above.
- Mobgnome - In Stormchaser, the character Twig comes across all sorts of creatures in the Bloodoak Tavern: There were flat-head and hammer-head goblins; oakelves, mobgnomes...
- MuglumpOdd frog-like creatures that have six legs, large beady eyes and are commonly found in the Mire and Undertown sewers. They feed on meat and have their nose like a periscope to walk under the mud to surprise their prey.
[edit] N
- Nightwaif - Short, nondescript waifs. Capable of hearing anything, anywhere. Known Nightwaifs : Forficule, Partifule.
- Night-Lemuel - Tree-dwelling creatures with a mating call similar to that of a Lemkin's. They are mentioned only once, in the first book.
[edit] O
- Oakbat - In Midnight Over Sanctaphrax, the main characters come across many different animals in the Great Shryke Slave Market: past rows of sleeping oakbats, their ankles tethered to the branches with leather jesses.
- Oakelf - Oakelves are tree-dwelling beings who sleep in Caterbird cocoons, thereby opening themselves to the Caterbird's dreams and knowledge. They alone seem immune to the deadly Rotsucker, which seals such cocoons and waits for the creature within to dissolve, whereapon it cuts into the shell and drinks. Oakelves as a rule have huge eyes symbolic of their wisdom, which is considerable, and long ears similar to those of the Jedi Master Yoda featured in Star Wars.
- Oakhen - In Midnight Over Sanctaphrax, the main characters encounter various animals whilst travelling through the Deepwoods: the oakhens who came in search of bulbul berries.
- Oozefish - Oozefish are natives of the Mire; foul, sluggish, vile-tasting mudskipper-analogues. Few creatures eat them (Screedius Tollinix is known to have done so). Their bones are used for divination by charlatans in Scantaphrax.
[edit] P
- Prowlgrin - Strange animals used as mounts and guard-beasts. Mostly mouth, they resemble a sperm whale, with two small T-Rex arms and a skinny tail instead of flukes. They possess great, grinning toothy mouths, hence their name. Known users of Prowlgrins: Gabba the Gabtroll, Freeglade Lancers, Shrykes, Sanctaphrax knights.
- Piebald rat - A sewer rat considered inedible by Undertowners and Academics.
[edit] Q
- Quarm - Tree-dwellers with a distinctive squeal.
[edit] R
- Ratbird
- Red-dwarf - In Stormchaser, the character Twig comes across all sorts of creatures in the Bloodoak Tavern: There were flat-head and hammer-head goblins.....black-dwarfs and red-dwarfs...
- Reed-eel
- Rock Demon- Terrifying mutant beasts, resembling a huge, spiny Rotsucker. They inhabit a ravine in the shadow of the new Sanctaphrax Rock. Orbix Xaxis is known to have sacrificed Librarians and prisoners to these monsters. It is possible that they mutated from Rotsuckers.
- Rotsucker - Rotsuckers are scavengers that prey on those foolish enough to sleep in a vacant Caterbird cocoon (though usually not Oakelves). The Rotsucker first fills the cocoon with corrosive acids, then seals the opening with a hardening agent present in glands of the skin. The prisoner initially may struggle, but ultimately gives up and decomposes into a thick, viscous liquid. The Rotsucker then breaks in and drinks the "stew". Interestingly, a Rotsucker appears to be intelligent on a more-than-instinctive level; it holds long soliloquies in its mind, though it is presumably incapable of verbal speech.
[edit] S
- Shryke A species of bird Creatures. They are vicious and cold blooded, and the females have the more colourful plumage, using the males as drab pets and slaves.
- Skullpelt Takes the form of something in the lullabee groves, to trick and kill.
- Skulltrog
- Slaughterer
- Slime Mole
- Snicket - Possibly a relative of the ratbird. They have long pointed noses and stubby triangular wings. Like, the ratbird they fly in flocks, however, unlike the scavenger ratbirds, snickets appear to be hunters. In Last of the Sky Pirates they stripped a trog of meat straight down to the bone in a few moments.
- Spiderbat
- Spindlebug - Spindlebugs resemble insects, but are enormous and wholly transparent, giving them the nickname "Old Glass-legs". They tend the Milchgrubs, raising food for Gyle Goblin colonies, which operate like Ant colonies on a larger scale. Spindlebugs live for centuries and are very devoted to their work. One Spindlebug is known to have worked for Linius Pallitax, the sometime ruler of Scantaphrax; Tweezel, a cunning strategist who runs errands, calls people early for their appointments (by making them believe they are late) and looks after the family. It is he who rescues Linius while Quint is distracted by the Gloamglozer.
- Stormhornet A wasp like creature that lives on lakes, rarely seen apart from when a storm is due.
- Snowbird - It appeared in Curse of the Gloamglozer when Quint was in one of the Low Sky Cages: Above his head, a snowbird soared across the sky, mewling like a babe-in-arms.
[edit] T
- Tufted Goblin A variation of Goblin from the Goblin nations.
- Termagant Trog Young and beautiful before they change, they always have long, shocking red hair. They are normally after a pet of some form, as in Beyond the deepwoods, Twig befalls a young termagant before she changes. Mag drinks the blood of the bloodoak, and is transformed into a hulking beast, losing her hair, and gaining huge, rippling muscles, and a thirst for violence.
- Tilder A creature similar to a deer in size, with curled horns. It has a speckled back and is usually found in groups, to Protect them from predators. They are usually also found near water, and they graze, being herbivores. They aren't dangerand if you come across one, you won't be harmed by it ; it will just run away.
- Tree Goblin
[edit] V
- Vulpoon A scraggly bird with a sharp beak, similar to a toucan, but with a more vicious beak.
[edit] W
- Waterwaif
- Web-foot goblin
- Whitecollar Woodwolf-a particularly savage race of wolves, trained by civilized people as hunting aides.
- White Raven
- Wig-wig - A vicious creature in the deepwoods, usually found near densely populated places, such as the great Shryke market. They are orange and fluffy, very cute to an unexperienced eye. They soon show their dark side when they practically split in half to resemble a bear trap, and clamp their fearsome jaws upon their unlucky victim. Often mighty and noble banderbears fall victim to their feeding frenzies. Wig-wigs are very dangerous creatures.
- Woodbear - In Midnight Over Sanctaphrax, the main characters come across many different animals in the Great Shryke Slave Market: ...dying hollowed trees with bars at the gaping holes, forming cages to woodbears...
- Woodbee - Like normal bees except that they send out one bee to find the flowers, and when it comes back, it does flying acrobatics to tell the others where the nectar is.
- Woodmoth
- Woodtroll - Woodtrolls are short (yet stocky) creatures, made even shorter by their hunched postures. They have large feet with wide heels and stubby toes. Their faces are framed by bushy eyebrows and feature rubbery button noses. Woodtrolls are well known for their affinity with wood; most individuals are either tree fellers or carpenters. They pass down knowledge of the properties of different timbers from generation to generation. Most Woodtrolls have an instinctive fear of the unknown and are a very ritualistic tribe, with many ceremonies for different occasions. Notable is Wodgiss Night, a time of feasting.
- Woodowl - Like normal owls, except that when they are about to go hunting, the meet very noisily and decide how and where.
