Catalogus Monstrorum · Volume the First
A curated cabinet of fantastical creatures, recorded specimens, and rare beings catalogued from the dream-worlds of the MiRiS game-making circle. Each entry has been observed, sketched, and pressed beneath glass for the patient student.
Specimens No. 001 — No. 008 · observed across the marshes, the inner halls, and the long forgetting
Anura sepulchra
Squat, antlered amphibian observed in the slow waters east of Verlin. Hums at dusk; the song induces drowsiness in passing travellers, though never permanent. Skin damp, cold to the touch, said to hold the colour of riverbed copper.
Longipes vesperalis
A four-armed, slender figure, taller than two men, that moves through pine corridors at the hour of vespers. The Walker has never been heard to speak. Reports describe a faint scent of cedar resin and old paper in its passing. Hostile only when its territory is mapped.
Curator's note: the Walker is the patron creature of the second hall and adorns our seal.
Folium piscis
A flat, leaf-thin fish that drifts through still libraries between the shelves. Said to feed on the dust of unread books.
Rota perpetua
Not strictly a creature but a recurring apparition observed in the upper sky over the Obsidian Plain — a slow rotating wheel of golden eyes, fifty in number. Visible only to those who have not slept for three nights.
Specimens No. 005 — No. 010 · documented from the inner archives and from the dreams of the curators
Primogenitus tenebrae
Recorded only twice in the history of the bestiary. A figure of indeterminate height with a crown of folded hands. Speaks in the sound of distant church bells. Considered a patron rather than a hostile entity.
Canis foci
A small, ash-pelted hound seen curled in cold fireplaces of abandoned houses. Said to keep the embers alive long after the inhabitants have gone.
Lampas viator
A traveller-form creature carrying a lantern of bone-white light. Walks the long road between the eastern duchies. Will trade riddles for honest food, but never for coin. Of all the catalogued creatures, the most polite.
Curator's note: the Lanterned One left this museum a folded note in 2024. It is in the archive, unread.
Vidua campanaria
A small triangular creature inhabiting the disused belfry of the chapel of Saint Vellen. Cries once at the hour of midnight; the cry is the colour of grief.
Index of incomplete reports, half-glimpsed beings, and entries pending verification
The patient hands behind the cataloguing of the MiRiS specimens
Principal Curator
Records of marshland fauna; founder of Hall I. Maintains the wax seals on the older folios.
Archivist of Apparitions
Specialist in night-time and sleepless-eye observations. Catalogued the Wheel.
Illustrator & Engraver
Provides the plate-engravings on the specimen cards. Works only by candle.
Junior Cataloguer
Maintains the lower archive. Filed the Hearth Hound and the Paper Fish.