WriterDoug
So it goes, so it goes.
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2006
- Messages
- 147
This is not a story and may barely qualify as an excerpt either. For me, it is presently only a block of notes in my bestiary files for my eventual fantasy story. The entry is encyclopedic in nature and would certainly not be spewed off moments before an intense battle or confrontation. Instead, I imagine some character reading about the Chimera (which in my series IS quite a nasty creature) in a monster book of sorts and then constantly worrying about running into one. 
All that really matters for me is this: I realize you will already have a solid mental picture of what a traditional chimera looks like and maybe even how it acts, but does my version seem ominous enough to be interesting?
PS: This has not received the polish as my last two writing samples I posted, so I fear it may have sloppiness.
**************
Chimera (Land Dweller)
The word chimera is said to be a fusion of two older words from the First Tongue: chi, meaning “life” or “alive” and mare meaning “dark terror” and is often in reference to predators of livestock in the dead of night. The name given therefore equates to the “Living Nightmare,” which does not particularly do justice to the true nature of the beast. The Chimera is (being the sole denizen of its kind,) without question, one of the most feared, natural abominations of Nus Erthen, and to the fortune of most, is rarely sighted but maybe thrice in a healthy lifetime.
Naturally being a four-footed foe, the Chimera rises with its good head (for it actually has a deformed and hideous second that juts off to the side of the face and is not functional) approximately four fathoms from the ground; at close inspection, it (which may very well be a proper identifier) resembles some sort of gigantic hybrid between lion and serpent, as peculiar an image that may be. The two front paws are exceptionally large and authoritative, capable of crushing a sturdy battalion with a simple press or knocking down cobblestone walls with a fierce jab; each bears a set of hooked nails five in number that are sleek black and the length of a full-grown man, yet a million-fold sharper. This physiological disproportion is said to be an evolutionary matter, seeing as the creature is believed to have originated from the depths of the oceans and later migrated to land. Evidence is strong that the Chimera once exhibited a swimming and feeding pattern identical to that of the common seal or otter, but it is not known why the beast chose (or was forced) to evolve in a radical manner.
As previously hinted, the two back legs are considerably weaker and smaller than the forefronts, and the creature has even been known to occasionally “hop” as a walrus when forced to speedily position itself, due to this deficiency. Though a truly versatile creature in most regards, the back-end remains the only highly vulnerable portion of the body, (though the protective tail is by no means a thing to take lightly,) hence the age-old war maxim died like a chimera to imply a felling from a blow to the back of the legs or lower torso.
Of great interest to many in all things bizarre and irrational may be the head itself, for the Chimera dons a mouthful of crooked, yellow teeth and four fangs, fashioned in a gaping maw that hinges quite widely, typically like that only seen on magnificent and venomous swampjacks. Further up past flared nostrils, two bulging eyes of amber (that never appear to blink or go at ease) follow their every target with utmost precision. At the top of the beast’s wild mane, a pair of elongated horns (which surely doesn’t typify lions or snakes) with an out-and-then-down curvature bow their way over an arching spine as do tree branches through the canopies of a haunted forest.
At the beast’s midsection, a phenomenal shift occurs in which the thick, auburn fur becomes assimilated with reptilian flesh, most of which covers the rear section of the animal; the tail itself is nearly completely coated in these muddy green scales (that only show a hint of sparkle when wet) with just a bit of the lion fur at the end of it. Do not be taken by its funny appearance however, for the tail whips with a force great enough to splinter mighty oaks in arbitrary halves and is even capable of folding over itself and hovering ominously above the creature’s head.
There is much debate over the strange behavior of the Chimera, for not enough brave making observations from its natural habitat (which, according to most, appears restricted to the Great Plains and surrounding grasslands where it happily hunts; favorite food sources generally include wild horses, bison and anything else relatively large. It is said to have both tremendous vision and hearing, making it an ultimate predator, and it has even been claimed for thousands of years to breathe fire, but this is disputed in the present time. Instead, the monster is described as having powerful ducts alongside the saliva glands in the mouth, for the sole purpose of emitting a flammable gas as the beast roars with great intensity. Once in contact with fire, combustion ensues and then a terrifying randomness as it billows through the air, creating the illusion that this eyesore is breathing or blowing fire; if confrontation should ever be necessary (and God forbid) then it is highly cautioned to not attack the beast with torches, flaming arrows or any other burnished instruments for fear of an unsettling backlash! This, however, may be irrelevant altogether if instead the fiend chooses to retaliate with its eager doom talons.
All that really matters for me is this: I realize you will already have a solid mental picture of what a traditional chimera looks like and maybe even how it acts, but does my version seem ominous enough to be interesting?
PS: This has not received the polish as my last two writing samples I posted, so I fear it may have sloppiness.
**************
Chimera (Land Dweller)
The word chimera is said to be a fusion of two older words from the First Tongue: chi, meaning “life” or “alive” and mare meaning “dark terror” and is often in reference to predators of livestock in the dead of night. The name given therefore equates to the “Living Nightmare,” which does not particularly do justice to the true nature of the beast. The Chimera is (being the sole denizen of its kind,) without question, one of the most feared, natural abominations of Nus Erthen, and to the fortune of most, is rarely sighted but maybe thrice in a healthy lifetime.
Naturally being a four-footed foe, the Chimera rises with its good head (for it actually has a deformed and hideous second that juts off to the side of the face and is not functional) approximately four fathoms from the ground; at close inspection, it (which may very well be a proper identifier) resembles some sort of gigantic hybrid between lion and serpent, as peculiar an image that may be. The two front paws are exceptionally large and authoritative, capable of crushing a sturdy battalion with a simple press or knocking down cobblestone walls with a fierce jab; each bears a set of hooked nails five in number that are sleek black and the length of a full-grown man, yet a million-fold sharper. This physiological disproportion is said to be an evolutionary matter, seeing as the creature is believed to have originated from the depths of the oceans and later migrated to land. Evidence is strong that the Chimera once exhibited a swimming and feeding pattern identical to that of the common seal or otter, but it is not known why the beast chose (or was forced) to evolve in a radical manner.
As previously hinted, the two back legs are considerably weaker and smaller than the forefronts, and the creature has even been known to occasionally “hop” as a walrus when forced to speedily position itself, due to this deficiency. Though a truly versatile creature in most regards, the back-end remains the only highly vulnerable portion of the body, (though the protective tail is by no means a thing to take lightly,) hence the age-old war maxim died like a chimera to imply a felling from a blow to the back of the legs or lower torso.
Of great interest to many in all things bizarre and irrational may be the head itself, for the Chimera dons a mouthful of crooked, yellow teeth and four fangs, fashioned in a gaping maw that hinges quite widely, typically like that only seen on magnificent and venomous swampjacks. Further up past flared nostrils, two bulging eyes of amber (that never appear to blink or go at ease) follow their every target with utmost precision. At the top of the beast’s wild mane, a pair of elongated horns (which surely doesn’t typify lions or snakes) with an out-and-then-down curvature bow their way over an arching spine as do tree branches through the canopies of a haunted forest.
At the beast’s midsection, a phenomenal shift occurs in which the thick, auburn fur becomes assimilated with reptilian flesh, most of which covers the rear section of the animal; the tail itself is nearly completely coated in these muddy green scales (that only show a hint of sparkle when wet) with just a bit of the lion fur at the end of it. Do not be taken by its funny appearance however, for the tail whips with a force great enough to splinter mighty oaks in arbitrary halves and is even capable of folding over itself and hovering ominously above the creature’s head.
There is much debate over the strange behavior of the Chimera, for not enough brave making observations from its natural habitat (which, according to most, appears restricted to the Great Plains and surrounding grasslands where it happily hunts; favorite food sources generally include wild horses, bison and anything else relatively large. It is said to have both tremendous vision and hearing, making it an ultimate predator, and it has even been claimed for thousands of years to breathe fire, but this is disputed in the present time. Instead, the monster is described as having powerful ducts alongside the saliva glands in the mouth, for the sole purpose of emitting a flammable gas as the beast roars with great intensity. Once in contact with fire, combustion ensues and then a terrifying randomness as it billows through the air, creating the illusion that this eyesore is breathing or blowing fire; if confrontation should ever be necessary (and God forbid) then it is highly cautioned to not attack the beast with torches, flaming arrows or any other burnished instruments for fear of an unsettling backlash! This, however, may be irrelevant altogether if instead the fiend chooses to retaliate with its eager doom talons.
