Adventures in Tokevis

The journey north is cold, I know not what I shall find on this journey, but I wish to record all I can, whether for my own knowledge or later academic publishing. So I shall start simply, my name is Arcanist Shara Mallia, Apprentice of Zoology for the Veritas Convention, this document recounts my travels through the Tokevis Region, where I shall endeavor to note as many unique zoological features as I am able.

— Opening lines to the Journal

Adventures in Tokevis is a journal that has been kept by Shara Mallia as an account of her Zoological findings in the arctic region of Tokevis. While not yet published, Shara is looking to get her findings in print for those to learn about the harsh realities in one of the most dangerous parts of the world.

Adventures in Tokevis

General Information

Full Name	Adventures in Tokevis: An Exploration of Zoological Expansion
Type	Journal Academic Research
Author	Shara Mallia

Description

The original document itself is a series of looseleaf pages within a leather cover that was crafted by Shara as a way to keep track of her various notes across her expedition around Tokevis in early 752 AR. Her trip lasted for approximately 38 months before a series of avalanches and monstrous attacks left Shara unable to move her lower limbs and confined to an Arcane Wheelchair.

Upon her return, a second edition was copied and bound by Shara. While most of the original journal is contained within this second edition, at least three pages are known to have been removed by Shara. The contents of these pages has not been made public, and have garnered much speculation.

Contents

The bound journal comprises of 183 pages, all filled with various notes, sketches, and theorems about creatures and ecology in Tokevis. Over half of the pages document species that were barely discussed in previous academic pursuits. It is estimated that at least 40 new species were discovered in the course of Shara's journey. Each species is given ata least 1 full page dedicated to them, with families of creatures being collated into smaller packs of pages. At least 24 pages are dedicated to geology and ecological experimentation, with a further 12 pages focused on the consideration of how species developed differently across Tokevis.

Pages

This section contains an example of some of the pages, some are individual pages, while others are combined double spreads containing the writings of Shara. I have included some descriptions of pictures that will be added throughout the development of the journal. Red writings are annotations by Shara, while grey additional notes are descriptions of images.

Frostbeards - Androsylactus

A sketch of the Frostbeards, done by Shara in a rough guide. It shows a clear depiction of what the creatures look like. These strange small creatures constantly keep watch over our camp at night. They in some ways resemble a lizard, with a thick beard of hoarfrost covering their rounded face. I have attempted to sketch the creature to the best of my abilities, having ample time to observe it in its habitat. They often stand no taller than a common weasel, though at points there was one that looked much older. My estimate was that the elderwas at least 1.5x the size of many others.

From what I can gather, the creatures have the ability to fly, at first I thought it was just a gentle glide from a tall height, but it somehow achieves lift, driving itself upwards. This is coupled with its lightness, the creature itself seems to have hollow bones like many avians. I am thinking that this is a trait that is shared between draconic creatures to allow them the freedom of flight.

I have some ideas as to what the arcano-biological essense of the Frostbeard is. These theories will be further explored at a later date when I can look at more of the creatures. The Frostbeards seem to have an affinity for the cold, similar to that of those with arcane potential. Their mere presence changes cold surfaces and imbues them with a level of heat. I believe this comes from a secretion on their lamellae that aligns with evocation magic.

That's not the only magical element of the creatures. A number of the Frostbeards showed a radiant light in their chest when around a fire, despite the arctic winds. This light seems to warm those around the campfire, I found some of the wounds sustained throughout dangerous travels were closing much quicker when we were surrounded by the Frostbeards.

It seems that Frostbeards create a flock, a group of them who live together and spend time together constantly as a community. We were both fortunate and unfortunate enough to witness an elderly Frostbeard die. The flock gathered around the body, solemn cries ringing out. The radiant light that they produced was cast tenfold, causing an almost blinding light.

Frost Dragons - Althrasylactus

A sketch of the wings of Frost Dragons. They are filled with frost, almost crystalline structures lining the wings. I was fortunate enough to encounter a Frost Dragon today. Most people would call that mad, desiring to encounter one of the most dangerous type of creature in the realms. This was not the creature, per se, but its body. A perfect anatomical study.

I used the time with the body to dissect and learn more about the majestic dragons. It seems to be that Frost Dragons are more elementally infused than other draconics that I have witnessed. Their form smaller than most of the pure dragons, though they share some resemblance to both White and Silver Dragons. Potentially Frost Dragons could be an elementally charged variation of either type. It would be interesting to compare the anatomy of each of these creatures.

Some images of the dragon's bones and skull. The skull has three horns that even as bones have a crystalline structure to them. I did notice that the creature was bulkier than some creatures that I've seen before. It also seemed to be covered in a combination of thick ice-like scales and strangely fur lining parts of the body from the head down the whole form. This would suggest that the creatures have adapted to be within the extreme cold of the Tokevis region by growing fur and having a larger body.

Habitat

From the location that the body was found, I can only presume that the creature was inhabiting its lair. We discovered the body at the base of an ice ravine, this would suppose that Frost Dragon's prefer a habitat of mostly ice rather than stones. This is an alternative to the more commonly cavernous locations of other dragons.

Hoarde

There were contingents of smaller critters in the lair. These contingents were larger than merely creatures gathering, almost as if they were stored by the dragon. This suggests to me that Frost Dragons, like many of their ilk, have a prepension to collect things. In this case, the Frost Dragon collected smaller insects and creatures.

The Proposed Effects of Arcane Magic

This entry is mostly my conjecture about what the actual effect of arcane magics has been on the arctic. I hope that in some way, I can use this theory as the basis for further study. Through several of the expeditions that made up the whole journey, I noticed that much of the landscape was affected by the arcane nature of the disasters that surrounded Tokevis during The Shatter. While I cannot speak for the history of the events, I can only describe the natural impacts that I was able to notice. I have used this section to also speak about potential leads for further study to be completed at a later date.

Ruins and Arcane Storms

The ruins of the Arvadian city of Varys permiate through the entire region. I am well aware that these seem to seep out magical potential that can influence not only the nature of the lands, but also the ecology. Strange creatures that would be impossible have been discovered in the depths of these ruins.

Accompanying the ruins and their magical leaks seem to be a number of arcane storms. They seem to occur infrequently but will have a considerable impact on the ecological development of the Region. I am concerned that some of the adaptations I have written about could be a result of arcane transformations.

Snow Dunes

The arctic region is filled with a mass of snow dunes, similar in style to a desert but being covered in snow over sand. While the dunes are quite common, there are some that are much larger in scale. Beneath each of these seems to be a glaciar that glows with a potentially arcane light. I noted that creates who stuck around these snow dunes were almost frozen in appearence. It was in one of these dunes that we discovered the body of a Frost Dragon, a creature that I would argue is imbued with elemental energies.

The Igneous Shard

I really want to find time to explore more of the Igneous Shard, There seems to be more to its depths.

A major example of the impact of magical energy on the arctic is the Igneous Shard. The mere fact alone that it is an active volcano in the middle of the arctic has caused significant chaos in the zoological world. At least three creatures of the arctic seem to be focused on flames and embers. I can only hypothesise that this is a result of the influence of the Igneous Shard.

I was able to visit one of the lava lakes in one of the expeditions, it was a strange duality, feeling the immense heat of the lava against freezing cold winds. Then finding small lizards that were scuttling across the river's surface led me to hypothesise that the Igneous Shard is the primary source of heat for several creatures, allowing for several of them to have altered their physiology to adapt to the immense heat rather than the freezing cold, binding them to the volcano and its rivers.

Small Thoughts for Further Study

There are some smaller aspects of arcane practice in the region that would merit further study from a zoological perspective.

I vaguely mentioned the ruins and its strange creatures. I would love the chance to examine a creature more closely than we were able to. Their forms seem almost monsterous rather than bestial and it would be best to get a clear distinction.

There were a number of young creatures that were were only able to observe for a short time due to the attack that resulted in my paralysis. They seemed to be immensely strong, almost like giants that have been found around the realm. I believe further study may suggest these are a potentially sentient species influenced by magic.

The aquatic life that we encountered in our outbound and return journey were beautiful, their scales completely iridescent. I believe that the magical effects may extend into the underwater region, which could result in strange zoological connections, I believe that this would warrant further study, from eithe rmyself or my colleagues who are focused on primarily aquatic zoology.