Monsters
Though the land the clowders inhabit are under the protection of Great Oma, evil still leaks in from time to time in the form of the monsters that lurk in the shadows. These creatures are usually powerful and mindless, with their only goal being destruction and misery. As a result, clowder cats rarely tend to explore much beyond the well beaten path, fearful of what awaits them in the unknown.
Kinziezi And Monsters
Often, the more powerful a monster is, the more difficult it is to defeat. It is better to keep them away altogether. Clerics and mystics alike use their connections to Oma to create protective charms or bless homes to ward away monsters. These generally have no affect against more powerful monsters, but they dissuade smaller ones from coming near.
Mimites
The Monsters
Name: Mimites (My-mites)
Rarity: Common
Threat: Low
Cause: It is unknown exactly where mimites are from or why they exist.
Description: Mimites are small and fuzzy creatures with a body similar to a rat or a bat. They are about as large as the average field mouse. Their color usually ranges from dull brown to black. Mimites also tend to have a varying amount of eyes on their faces. Some only have one, others can have up to five or six. It all depends.
Behavior: Mimites are a common pest that plague the homes of larger families. They start a small colony somewhere near or in the house and delight in playing pranks on the residing family. Generally these pranks are aimed to cause chaos in the household, and usually consist of stealing things from one cat and placing them in another cat's room, yanking on tails and making it seem like someone else did it, and so on. While they are relatively harmless, if left unchecked mimites can place stress on family and can actually tear families apart should their bonds already be strained.
Despite the effect they have on cats, mimites are not actually malicious. They're extremely friendly and social creatures, and some cats will take orphaned mimites into their homes as pets.
Mimites can be created when purchased from the Mysterious Merchant! Check out their guide here!
Dealing With Them: To deal with mimites, one must first identify that mimites are present. One sign is a sudden increase of items going missing in the house. However, one definitive way to tell if mimites have invaded one's home is by looking for their droppings. Mimites, like any other creature, eat and have a proper digestive system. They aren't extremely mindful of where they go, so it's common to find them everywhere if a colony is nearby.
Once their presence is confirmed, dealing with them becomes a simple matter of tracking down the colony and finding their queen. Mimite queens are identifiable by a big red stripe down their back. Once she's located, there are two options. Some cats choose to simply relocate her away from their home, causing the rest of the colony to follow. Others choose to kill her, which leaves the mimites without a queen (queenless mimites are referred to as orphans). They tend to scatter afterwards and move to different colonies, or simply die because they can rarely support themselves on their own.
Mimite queens are rarely seen outside of their colony. Normally, shortly before she dies, she will give birth to an heir that will take over the colony after her death. However, if she dies prematurely, the colony is left without a queen and disperses.
Reflections
Name: Reflections
Rarity: Common
Threat: Varying
Cause: Reflective Surfaces
Description: Reflections look just like you! Well, except for one thing. Their pupils are white.
Behavior: Reflections are everywhere. Any time one looks at a surface where they can see themselves looking back, they see a reflection. These strange spirits are mostly harmless, but they long to escape the bleak dimension they occupy. One should be careful not to admire their own reflection for too long, for if they are too close and have no one to watch them, their reflection will pull them through into the mirror world and take their place.
​
Reflections who have taken the place of a cat are easy to pick out because of their white pupils, however there are other things that make them identifiable. They are extremely appreciative of the world around them and tend to hold a sort of whimsical attitude towards nature. Many claim that reflections are actually quite pleasant to be around since they seem to only ever have positive things to say about everyone and everything. There have been many documented cases where family and friends have simply accepted a reflection in the place of a cat it took the place of because it was actually "better" than the original. That and reflections make getting the original cats back difficult since they tend to avoid any reflective surface at all costs.
Dealing With Them: Dealing with a reflection is difficult, for the only way to bring the original cat back is to bring the reflection to any reflective surface. The original cat can then pull the reflection through and return to the normal world. Reflections know this too and will do anything to avoid reflective surfaces. They are unnaturally strong and fighting with one is almost a guaranteed loss. Rather, one must be clever. In most cases where a cat has been brought back from the mirror world, the reflection was fooled into coming close enough for the cat to pull it through.
Noc-Nocs
Name: Noc-Nocs
Rarity: Uncommon
Threat: Moderate
Cause: When a soul is not given its proper rites, it begins to stir.
Description: Noc-Nocs are living corpses. They are easily identifiable by their blank stares and stumbling gait, as well as their noxious odor.
Behavior: Noc-Nocs (named for their knocking sounds their bodies make when they move) are simply confused spirits inhabiting a dead body. When a cat has died, their spirit will remain in their body until one of the Lantern Sisters comes to retrieve them. During this time, a spirit can become restless, and will manually reanimate the body it resides in if no death rites are said for them. Noc-Nocs when they first arise seem to be confused. They are almost humorous with the way they stumble around and groan things that are almost words. However, they are no laughing matter for the longer a noc-noc is left, the angrier it becomes. The spirit, still confused and now frustrated will begin to lash out at those around it. Noc-nocs will not recognize family or friends, nor do they seem to hold any mercy for any other creature. They seem mindlessly violent, and can be quite dangerous if allowed to get out of hand.
Dealing With Them: There are two ways of dealing with a noc-noc. The first way is simply to behead it. The spirit will find the body unusable and leave it. However, this method is highly discourages for it does not allow for the soul to move on and more often than not leads to angry ghosts haunting any nearby cats. The second method, while less simple, is far preferable. One must bring the noc-noc back to its burial and say the proper death rites over it. The spirit inside will be soothed and will release its hold of the body, lying dormant until a Lantern Sister retrieves it.
Copycats
Name: Copycat
Rarity: Uncommon
Threat: Moderate
Cause: Copycats strike those who are not mindful. It is unknown the exact origins of copycats, but many believe that they are not natural and were created from fish long ago by an evil sorcerer.
Description: To describe a copycat is difficult for their entire nature is to blend in. They come in many different shapes and sizes, a variety of species, and often it is hard to tell a copycat from whatever it is trying to mimic. However, if one is careful they can see the fish-like features that copycats tend to have. The later a copycat found its home, the more fishy it appears.
Copycat infants who are not given a home in time will turn into a regular, if not somewhat unattractive, fish.
Behavior: Copycats are a parasitic monster that drop their young into the families of other species. They are able to mimic any animal to fit in, and their young mature and develop at the same rate as whatever species they are growing up with. While copycats rarely directly attack anything, the effect they have on other creatures can be devastating. Copycat infants are demanding and tend to suck resources away from other children in the family. They also seem to cast a spell over the parents, causing them to feel a strong need to take care of the copycat. This can lead to the family's real children being neglected, some to the point of death.
When a copycat matures, it will become aggressive and distant, eventually leaving its adoptive family forever. It will only return once it has had its own children and will often favor its own adoptive family to drop them onto. As a result, there are families in the clowders that are considered cursed because they are continually chosen by copycats to take their young.
​
No one knows where a copycat goes when it leaves. Many speculate that they live in the Void until it is time for them to have children. Though legend has it that not all copycats leave their families. There are several stories about copycats who gain a sense of loyalty to their adoptive clowder families and resist their primal instinct to leave.
In order: A pair of parents put under a copycat's compulsive spell, a true form cat copycat flexing its mandibles, and a true form undisguised cat copycat. Copycats' true forms can come in many colors, but greens are the most common.
Dealing With Them: Getting rid of copycats is a risky business. It is better to prevent them by having a cleric bless one's home or placing protective charms created by mystics around one's property. Copycats tend to prey upon new families so if children have recently been born in a home, every adult in the house makes a point of helping the mother to keep a good watch over them and ensure that nothing disturbs them.
If, despite all of these measures, a copycat still infiltrates the family, there are very few options to get rid of it. Because of the spell a copycat infant places over parents, attempting to remove it from the family could have lethal effects for the parents will fight to their dying breath to keep it safe. The best option is simply to ensure that the family has enough resources to care for the copycat child so they can support it as well as their other children until the copycat decides to leave.
Wayward Wanderers
Name: Wayward Wanderers
Rarity: Uncommon
Threat: High
Cause: Enkel is behind every wayward wanderer. Be cautious.
Description: A wayward wanderer appears as a regular cat. They tend to be attractive to any cat who sees them, if a little worn from travel. Sometimes, they may even appear to have some sort of serious injury in order to garner sympathy from those who find them. However, in order to see the true nature of a wanderer, one must simply see their reflection. Reflections are always truthful, and they will show and twisted and grim apparition that can make one's stomach twist. This is the only way to tell a wayward wanderer from a normal cat. As a result, the clowders tend to be overly cautious and unwelcoming towards outsiders. The only exception is Blue Lake whose unique relationship with the lake waters allows them to inspect anyone's reflection right away.
Behavior: Wayward wanderers are evil spirits sent down by Enkel to sway clowder cats away from Oma. They pretend to be lost travelers from beyond the clowders and often will request to stay a little while so they can recover their strength. If allowed into a community, wayward wanderers will begin to spread seeds of doubt in the hearts of the clowder cats. Once they have renounced Oma, Enkel may come to devour their souls and grow more powerful.
Wayward wanderers are armed with charm and an incredible way with words. They seem to have the incredible ability to talk anyone into anything, making their presence in any community incredibly dangerous.
Dealing With Them: Once a wayward wanderer has a hold on a community, it's over. So the only way to deal with them is to prevent them. As a result, most clowder cats will chase away or even kill travelers from beyond the clowders with no questions asked. This is the only safe way to deal with these dangerous creatures.
Playdeads
Dealing With Them: To deal with a playdead, the only thing one can do is be aware. If there's a random dead animal on the ground, it's best to avoid it.
Name: Playdeads
Rarity: Uncommon
Threat: High
Cause: Though it is not known where they came from nor what causes them, playdeads do tend to appear in areas that are frequented by hunters.
Description: Playdeads appear as freshly killed prey. However, the closer one gets, the uneasier they will feel about it as they begin to notice small things that are off about this free 'prey.' Long fangs and unusual claws can be seen from up close, and the creature will appear strangely alive. When they throw off their disguise, they are indescribably grotesque, often being described as a chunk of muscles with teeth and claws.
Behavior: Playdeads disguise themselves as freshly killed prey (usually something common for the area), and wait for something to approach it. When a cat gets close, they throw off their disguise and attack. Playdeads are incredibly strong and fast. Their attacks are brutal and they are known for a high pitched, chilling whistling that they make whilst attacking that seems to paralyze their victim. They can easily maim if not kill even the strongest of clowder cats. They will continue to attack until they get bored and wander away to find their next victim.
Special Monsters
The following creatures are unique, only appear at a certain time of year, and/or only appear in a certain area. Be sure to read carefully before having your cat interact with any one of these monsters, for drawing your cat in certain interactions with some of them can result in death.
The Elder Ghost
Active Time: October
Region: Deepwoods
Danger: Harmless (Annoyance: Astronomical)
Deepwoods is well known for being proud of its history, and it seems that its ancestors are too! Well, at least one of them. The Elder Ghost appears around Deepwoods during the autumn months and berates the living cats for straying from the traditional Deepwoods path. No matter what someone is doing, who they are, or even what age they are, no one can match his impossibly high standards. No one knows his name and he refuses to give it, claiming that they are not worthy of such an honor. Most cats simply ignore him until he leaves.
The Skeleton
Active Time: October
Region: Dullpines and Redblood
Danger: Low
No one knows the origins of this offputting creature. Some believe it is an old noc-noc that was never laid to rest. Others think that it is a minion sent by Enkel. Even more believe it is an ancient creature that inhabited the lands before Oma ever claimed them for the clowders. However, every cat can agree on one thing: this walking cat skeleton is terrifying. It arises during the autumn months and shambles around until it finds a lone cat. It will proceed to walk slowly behind them, only stopping if they look at it. However, as soon as they take their eyes off of it, it will begin closing the distance between them aqain, and again, and again until it gets close enough to strike. No cat can remember what happens afterwards. They only know that they wake up with a strange wound on the back of their neck and a rib bone in their mouth. No one has been known to die to this skeleton except a couple odd elders who had heart attacks from the scare.
Oma's Shadow
Active Time: October
Region: Green Forest
Danger: High
Oma's Shadow is a creature that looks quite similar to Oma. It shares her body, and even her markings and colors. However, when it turns around, it shocks anyone who dares approach it with chilling red eyes. It is important to avoid this creature, for it will kill anyone who comes close. Once it has begun to chase you, there is little hope for escape.
Many believe this creature may have been some sort of a lesser god who tried to usurp Oma's position but instead was banished from Kelnekij and cursed to forever be a shadow of the real Oma. It often sits in clearings mumbling to itself as strange and unnatural leaves fall around it.
The Lake Lights
Active Time: October
Region: Blue Lake
Danger: High
The Lake Lights have been around almost as long as Blue Lake has and they are incredibly deadly. Fitting to the themes of Blue Lake, the Lake Lights seem to be several cats having a massive party. Should one get to close, the Lights will attempt to draw them into the party. But upon stepping into the water, a cat will be immediately drowned and join the party as a new Lake Light the following year.
Even if a cat manages to make it out of the water before they drown, they are not spared. They will no longer be mentally present, only smiling and laughing as if they are at a party. They will not drink or eat, and most tend to die of thirst after a short time. During this time, it is illegal to sail on the lake. Floating homes as well as Blue Lakes prisons are docked on the main island until the Lake Lights return to dormancy.
​
DO NOT DEPICT YOUR CAT IN THE WATER WITH THE LAKE LIGHTS UNLESS YOU WANT TO KILL THEM.
Bats-Against-The-Moon
Active Time: October
Region: The Clowders
Danger: High
Every year a young tom cat who goes by the name Bats-Against-The-Moon appears around relatively deep bodies of water insisting that cats play with him. No one knows who he truly is, nor what clowder he came from, but it is important to deny his requests to play. If a cat decides to humor him, he be very happy and play like the little kid he seems to be at first. But he will slowly become rougher and begin to drag the cat into the water, pulling them under until they drown, to which he will disappear. Should a cat deny him, he will become more insistent, and if they hold their ground, he will become furious, wailing accusations as he morphs into something only barely recognizable as a cat. He may also throw winter cherries towards any cat who is fleeing him.
Count Catula
Active Time: October
Region: The Clowders
Danger: Call The Peacekeepers
Count Catula is a cat who has definitely been around a long time. Equipped with two long and definitely real fangs, he will suck the blood of any cat unfortunate enough to meet him. Luckily, almost every cat has managed to escape his grasp and is always able to describe his ways in overwhelming detail.
​
He is a cat with no fur and is only ever accompanied by at least five bats. He always jumps from the shadows shouting the cryptic word "Bweh," striking a chilling fear into his victims. A true menace, be aware when you're walking at night.