First up are house panthers, which resemble cats from Earth, but are usually larger. House panthers are quadrupedal predators, with immense variation in their appearances. Some have lush, fluffy coats, solid colors, and are tame. Others are smooth or wiry, patterned or plain.

Regardless of their variety, house panthers are a common pet to many families in Old Sarzonn. In addition to their affection and company, panthers hunt pests, such as bugs and rodents, even feasting on birds, if they can catch them. House panthers are quick, agile hunters, affectionate companions, and occasionally wild animals that are a must-see in Old Sarzonn.

Up next are much larger predators, native to the woodlands and marshes outside the city limits. Marsh hounds are wild canine creatures that are intelligent, sociable, and difficulat to tame. The species that lives closest to Old Sarzonn is the ridge-mane marsh hound, a particularly resilient variety of wild hound. 

Marsh hounds are excellent survivors, hunt in packs, and are supportive parents to their young. Additionally, they are a species that can harness a simple form of ethercraft that suppresses sensory perception in their prey. Scent masking and noiseless movements are two hallmarks of these hunters, making them incredibly dangerous to chance upon in the wild.

On the smaller side of the animal kingdom, we have the many insects of Old Sarzonn. Alas, insects and arachnids are my least favorite things to draw, so we have a few rudimentary silhouettes to go on. The four creatures mentioned in "Lowlifes" so far include spiders, biter-bugs, swarmstinger wasps, and bog crawlers. On a scale of most to least tolerable, that's the order to find them in. 

Least bothersome are spiders, which hunt other insects to survive. Aside from species with poisonous bites, they's not much of a concern in Old Sarzonn. Much more bothersome are biter-bugs, which are winged bloodsucking pests, often found in The Dregs. Biter-bugs infest disused or filty harborages, biting humans and creatures to survive. Where you find one, it's sure that there are many more nearby.

Another troubling pest is the swarmstinger wasp, a territorial, aggressive insect that had no trouble stinging anything that displeases them. Named for their social structure and primary attack, swarmstingers are less common within city limits, but not impossible to find. 

Swarmstingers are unique in that they have generational memory; elder swarmstingers teach their young family members where to find food, what to avoid, and who to hold grudges against. Beware offending a swarmstinger hive; unless you plan on destroying them all, they will remember you...

The last species mentioned, with a tiny inset at the bottom there, are bog crawlers. They're so immense and disgusting that I couldn't bring myself to sketch even a single one of them. Huge, crawling monsters with thousands of skittering legs lurk in the bogs of Sig-Fordaad, a distant island full of legendary beasts. If ever I pursue additional books on Chromaldus, perhaps we'll visit the many wondrous creatures of Sig-Fordaad, and the ferocious, legendary monsters of the Untamed Wilds.

And to cap off the first entry in our field journal, I present the largest land predators of Chromaldus; the raddilbak. Three distinct species exist on Chromaldus, with only one close enough to pose any danger to Old Sarzonn. These immense creatures, the thundering raddilbaks, are easily the most devastating beasts in the continent of Tevrose. 

Thundering raddilbaks are the largest, heaviest of the raddilbak species, and are named for their ability to channel ether into electrical energy. Armored, tough, and resistent to their own venom, a thundering raddilbak is deadly at any size, growing to the size of a house once they reach adulthood. 

It is said that raddilbaks never stop growing; they simply die out before they can get any bigger. Whether there's any truth to that is unknown, but plenty of foolish hunters have lost their lives searching for the next titanic raddilbak. Even more have fallen to the creatures' electrical discharges and potent venom.

Fortunately, the citizens of Old Sarzonn have little chance of seeing an aquatic or spit-fire raddilbak, but they must always be on guard in case a thundering raddilbak ever wanders their way. Young travelers often ask where it's safe to build cities in Tevrose, and the wisest always answer, "wherever raddilbaks aren't."

That wraps up our first field journal for Chromaldus. Are there any animals you'd like to see sketches of? Do you have any questions, now that you've seen them drawn out? Give a shout in the comments below. I often picture these creatures in vivid detail while writing, but often forget to share details in the main story. 

As always, thanks for reading and showing your support for "Of Lowlifes, Lutes, & Liars."