Fauna, Companions & Familiars
The fauna of Mystara exists in a state of deep interpenetration with the land's ambient arcane field, producing species found nowhere else in Landorya and endowing common species with unusual properties when they persist within Mystaran territory for multiple generations. The most iconic native creature is the Aether-Moth, whose wing-patterns spontaneously reproduce common Mystaran sigils and whose presence in an area is treated as a reliable indicator of heightened ley line proximity. Individual Aether-Moths are sometimes kept by Mystaran practitioners as living arcane gauges, their wing-pattern changes offering early warning of significant fluctuations in the local magical field.
The Veil-Wraith is the most unsettling creature native to Mystara — a semi-corporeal entity that exists partially in the material plane and partially in the astral, perceivable as a faintly luminous distortion in the air. Veil-Wraiths are not predatory and do not engage with material beings deliberately; they appear to be drawn to zones of high planar permeability and are most commonly encountered near the Hall of the Five Mysteries. Their presence in unusual numbers is considered a significant omen by the Ministry of Prophecy, though the precise significance varies by context.
The Mirror-Hound is a psychic predator that inhabits the deeper mist-territories and feeds on ambient emotional energy. While rarely dangerous to Mystarans, who are generally able to shield their emotional output, Mirror-Hounds represent a significant hazard for unprepared visitors, who may find their fears and memories externalized as confusing sensory phenomena. The Convergence Serpent, which dwells in the deepest channels of the Ley-Convergence nexus, is known primarily through instrument readings and theoretical modeling; no living Mystaran is recorded as having observed one directly. Many practitioners maintain formal companion bonds with Memory-Crystal constructs rather than biological creatures — enchanted objects imbued with enough responsive intelligence to function as intellectual partners and magical assistants.