In the Fallen World, only a few species survive. All are rare - indeed, all are endangered and in the process of dying out. Fungi, not plants, are the primary food staples; meat is so rare that it is only eaten in extreme conditions. There are so few surviving species that everyone knows all of them. Nation-Eaters and humans are not included on this list.
FAUNA
Mammal Molerat - burrowing hairless rodents, blind and aggressive, that live in subterranean hives. Fang Addax - an antelope with pointed canines. Drinks no water, only blood. Used for milk. Pole-badger - a hostile, foul-smelling mustelid. Porcupine - a dense-quilled and vocal rodent. Burncat - a medium-sized wildcat with a bristly ruff and dark brown, scorched-looking fur. Burncats can burn psi to increase their speed.
Reptile Asp - an extremely venomous hooded snake. Rain Toad - a bulbous, waddling toad that can inflate itself into a sphere; a sign water is nearby. Silt Eel - grinning eels that burrow through the sea.
Bird Ostrich - the largest animal other than Nation-Eaters. Fast runners; rarely captured as mounts. Penguin - these divers on the edge of the Sea of Silt become red-faced as the day grows hot. Chucker - these small, rotund birds live on Spires and glide down hillsides when they run.
Thanopod Scorpion - the most common animal. Most are extremely venomous. Tarantula - the largest of these are 20” across. Dowsercrab - small, horseshoe-shaped creatures that race across the desert towards water. Isopods - foragers in the Sea of Silt up to 2’ long, the closest thing to fish in the ecosystem.
Winger Locusts - swarms of 6” grasshoppers. Most common meat animals. Dangerous to crops. Moth - fluid-siphoning pests that congregate around trees. Dangerous in large numbers. Antlions - halfway between dragonflies & butterflies as adults; monstrous larvae.
Insect Ants - inch-long stinging insects that swarm across the desert at dusk and dawn. Superworms - segmented giant mealworms, up to 8” long, destroy stored wood pulp. Lice - some grow large enough to be seen, but not above ½”. Termites - mound-builders.
FLORA
Trees Date Tree - not half a dozen in the Vale, dates are considered the height of luxury. Acacia Tree - thorn trees, home of ants and pole-badgers. Ghaf Tree - perhaps one per Spire survive, pods used to season lentil curry. Saltbush - coastal shrubs, scraggly and inedible, rendered to pulp vats for mycos.
Grasses Teff - grain, grown on Terraces & used for bread. Rye - grain, grown on Terraces, used for bread, porridge, & beer. Saltgrass - covers the ground near the Silt Sea or salt flats; inedible. Needlegrass - common near oases, pointed and dangerous.
Water-Bearers Mistletoe Cactus - purple-brown, spindly, needled; most common plant in the Vale. Lithops - little plants that look like stones; contain water inside.
Roots Walking Leeks - vegetables; they are rooted shallowly and slowly drift along dunes. Lentils - dietary staple, grown in caves or on terraces. Horned melons - rare, spiky underground fruit; good source of water. Tumbo - plant whose leaves look like straps; hosts many yeasts & molds.
FUNGI
Yeasts - slimelike fungus, sometimes grow in large, bubbling fields. Black yeast - grows where nothing else will, the ‘weeds’ of the desert. Red yeast - used to ferment & preserve grains. Milk yeast - used to grow yogurts and cheeses. Baker’s yeast - used to make bread & beer. Seething yeast - dangerous but valued, caustic, breaks down tough food & cooks without fire
Lichens - flat carpets of hard inedible fungus. Rock moss - shaggy carpets of this grow across rocks. Boneflag - this orange lichen only grows near or on dead animals. Paintmoss - bright-colored, clings to any flat surface, used as pigment & dye.
Mushrooms - stemmed fungus with fruiting heads; most of what people eat. King Cap - common mushroom, food staple, grown on terraces. Earthstar - star-shaped husk, food staple. Squirt spores, dead stars roll like tumbleweeds. False earthstar - like earthstars. Tough-fleshed, smell bad. Shaggy-mane - wild-foraged mushroom used in bone marrow soup. Agaric - hallucinogenic mushroom, used as seasoning or in beer. Miracles - spongy-capped, delicious, rare. Sheikh truffle - rare, delicious, grow mostly by acacia roots. Siltfish - floating inedible mushroom on the Sea of Silt. Burned for fuel. Sandal’s friend - little fast-growing, inedible mushrooms that sprout around latrines & similar.
Phages - flesh-eating fungi. Hair-eater - ringworm. Nail-eater - a fungus on the nail beds, causing rashes and athlete’s foot. Mind-eater - inhaled, rare, causes brain abcesses. Rock-eater - a fungus that quite literally breaks down rocks; rare and caustic. Scarbiter - a fungus causing existing scar tissue to swell and spread.
Mycos - these mushrooms only grow on wood; cultivated on vats of wood pulp. Quorn - fibrous, bluish whisps of fungus, meatlike in texture. Blight quorn - a poisonous strain of quorn, almost identical,. Chaga conk - black, shaggy, faintly poisonous vitamin supplement, & sleep aid. Reicathic conk - disk-like mushrooms, rare, eaten to enhance psi power when Burning. Bearded tooth - beardlike clumps of highly nutritious fungus. Prized delicacy. Grass soot - a black particulate plague on trees and grasses.
Pathos - all used as poisons or bioweapons. Vale feverberry - causes lung fevers; little spotted fungal bodies scatter hillsides. Purple ergot - hallucinogenic poison, paralytic in quantity, used in beer. Salt mold - grows on salt flats and seashores, Tumbo mold - the choking black molds and plaguebearers in tumbo leaves. Frostbite’s friend - a phage that takes root in chilled flesh. Dowser’s cotton - a form of white mildew, only blooms near water. Malak Mashit - a mushroom containing hideously deadly poison.
SURVIVING FLORA & FAUNA
Mammal
Molerat - burrowing hairless rodents, blind and aggressive, that live in subterranean hives.
Fang Addax - an antelope with pointed canines. Drinks no water, only blood. Used for milk.
Pole-badger - a hostile, foul-smelling mustelid.
Porcupine - a dense-quilled and vocal rodent.
Burncat - a medium-sized wildcat with a bristly ruff and dark brown, scorched-looking fur. Burncats can burn psi to increase their speed.
Reptile
Asp - an extremely venomous hooded snake.
Rain Toad - a bulbous, waddling toad that can inflate itself into a sphere; a sign water is nearby.
Silt Eel - grinning eels that burrow through the sea.
Bird
Ostrich - the largest animal other than Nation-Eaters. Fast runners; rarely captured as mounts.
Penguin - these divers on the edge of the Sea of Silt become red-faced as the day grows hot.
Chucker - these small, rotund birds live on Spires and glide down hillsides when they run.
Thanopod
Scorpion - the most common animal. Most are extremely venomous.
Tarantula - the largest of these are 20” across.
Dowsercrab - small, horseshoe-shaped creatures that race across the desert towards water.
Isopods - foragers in the Sea of Silt up to 2’ long, the closest thing to fish in the ecosystem.
Winger
Locusts - swarms of 6” grasshoppers. Most common meat animals. Dangerous to crops.
Moth - fluid-siphoning pests that congregate around trees. Dangerous in large numbers.
Antlions - halfway between dragonflies & butterflies as adults; monstrous larvae.
Insect
Ants - inch-long stinging insects that swarm across the desert at dusk and dawn.
Superworms - segmented giant mealworms, up to 8” long, destroy stored wood pulp.
Lice - some grow large enough to be seen, but not above ½”.
Termites - mound-builders.
Trees
Date Tree - not half a dozen in the Vale, dates are considered the height of luxury.
Acacia Tree - thorn trees, home of ants and pole-badgers.
Ghaf Tree - perhaps one per Spire survive, pods used to season lentil curry.
Saltbush - coastal shrubs, scraggly and inedible, rendered to pulp vats for mycos.
Grasses
Teff - grain, grown on Terraces & used for bread.
Rye - grain, grown on Terraces, used for bread, porridge, & beer.
Saltgrass - covers the ground near the Silt Sea or salt flats; inedible.
Needlegrass - common near oases, pointed and dangerous.
Water-Bearers
Mistletoe Cactus - purple-brown, spindly, needled; most common plant in the Vale.
Lithops - little plants that look like stones; contain water inside.
Roots
Walking Leeks - vegetables; they are rooted shallowly and slowly drift along dunes.
Lentils - dietary staple, grown in caves or on terraces.
Horned melons - rare, spiky underground fruit; good source of water.
Tumbo - plant whose leaves look like straps; hosts many yeasts & molds.
Yeasts - slimelike fungus, sometimes grow in large, bubbling fields.
Black yeast - grows where nothing else will, the ‘weeds’ of the desert.
Red yeast - used to ferment & preserve grains.
Milk yeast - used to grow yogurts and cheeses.
Baker’s yeast - used to make bread & beer.
Seething yeast - dangerous but valued, caustic, breaks down tough food & cooks without fire
Lichens - flat carpets of hard inedible fungus.
Rock moss - shaggy carpets of this grow across rocks.
Boneflag - this orange lichen only grows near or on dead animals.
Paintmoss - bright-colored, clings to any flat surface, used as pigment & dye.
Mushrooms - stemmed fungus with fruiting heads; most of what people eat.
King Cap - common mushroom, food staple, grown on terraces.
Earthstar - star-shaped husk, food staple. Squirt spores, dead stars roll like tumbleweeds.
False earthstar - like earthstars. Tough-fleshed, smell bad.
Shaggy-mane - wild-foraged mushroom used in bone marrow soup.
Agaric - hallucinogenic mushroom, used as seasoning or in beer.
Miracles - spongy-capped, delicious, rare.
Sheikh truffle - rare, delicious, grow mostly by acacia roots.
Siltfish - floating inedible mushroom on the Sea of Silt. Burned for fuel.
Sandal’s friend - little fast-growing, inedible mushrooms that sprout around latrines & similar.
Phages - flesh-eating fungi.
Hair-eater - ringworm.
Nail-eater - a fungus on the nail beds, causing rashes and athlete’s foot.
Mind-eater - inhaled, rare, causes brain abcesses.
Rock-eater - a fungus that quite literally breaks down rocks; rare and caustic.
Scarbiter - a fungus causing existing scar tissue to swell and spread.
Mycos - these mushrooms only grow on wood; cultivated on vats of wood pulp.
Quorn - fibrous, bluish whisps of fungus, meatlike in texture.
Blight quorn - a poisonous strain of quorn, almost identical,.
Chaga conk - black, shaggy, faintly poisonous vitamin supplement, & sleep aid.
Reicathic conk - disk-like mushrooms, rare, eaten to enhance psi power when Burning.
Bearded tooth - beardlike clumps of highly nutritious fungus. Prized delicacy.
Grass soot - a black particulate plague on trees and grasses.
Pathos - all used as poisons or bioweapons.
Vale feverberry - causes lung fevers; little spotted fungal bodies scatter hillsides.
Purple ergot - hallucinogenic poison, paralytic in quantity, used in beer.
Salt mold - grows on salt flats and seashores,
Tumbo mold - the choking black molds and plaguebearers in tumbo leaves.
Frostbite’s friend - a phage that takes root in chilled flesh.
Dowser’s cotton - a form of white mildew, only blooms near water.
Malak Mashit - a mushroom containing hideously deadly poison.