A few weeks back, I posted about my favorite mythical monsters, so I think it’s only right to follow it up now with a look at favorite non-monstrous fantasy creatures. And yes, if you haven’t guessed it already from the common themes in the covers of my books and the hints I’ve been dropping about my new top secret project all over Instagram, I love all the fantasy creatures.
I suppose you could say I’m an animal person …
So fantastic animals with magical abilities, um, yes, please!
Of course, I could never dream of making this list complete on my own, so I hope you all will chime in and add your favorites onto the end. Ready?
Here we go …
1. Eanrin
Honestly, I hesitated about putting Eanrin from Anne Elisabeth Stengl’s Tales of Goldstone Woods series on a list of Fantasy Creatures because he’s a Faerie and sometimes appears as a man and sometimes as a cat, and of course that’s confusing, but I love him as both Eanrin the man and Eanrin the cat, so he made the list.
Because he is awesome. ‘Nuff said.
(Sadly, my copies of the Tales of Goldstone Woods are still packed in a box somewhere – tragedy – so I had to make do with a stock cover image.)
2. Nighteyes
Nighteyes is a wolf from Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy who is witbonded to FitzChivalry Farseer, which means that they can share thoughts and feelings and abilities and pretty much everything. And I just love their relationship. The two of them together are so awesome and practically unstoppable.
Also … wolves are just cool.
3. Sea Dragons
Singing sea dragons? Yes please! I fell in love with sea dragons in Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather Saga and especially the idea of the Dragon Day festival in Glipwood when the dragons sang and rose from the water in their annual dance.
A long, warm note like the sound of a yawning mountain rose in the air and bounced off the belly of the sky. The deep echo was absorbed by the tall trees of Glipwood Forest and was answered a moment later by a higher sound that felt like a soft rain.”
4. Thestrals
Okay, the thestrals from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series may seem strange, but I’m all for the magical steeds, so even though the thestrals are skeletal, bat-winged, carnivorous horses who can only be seen by people who have been truly touched by death … I’m including them in this list.
I just kind of think they’re cool! Also, can you imagine being one of the people who hadn’t seen death firsthand who had to ride an invisible steed?
(Diclaimer: So … I realize that thestrals don’t really come into play until the fifth book in the series … but I only have the first four to photograph at the moment, so we’re rolling with it!)
5. Frey
Just going to sneak this one in here …
I know, I know, I said I was going to try to stop putting my own creatures on the lists. But you guys know that gorgeous creature on the front cover of Song of Leira with Birdie? Well, I honestly can’t wait for you all to meet him. His name is Frey and he is a saif—a horselike creature with the slim legs and antlers of a deer, cloven-hoofed, and bearded like a goat, with the softest, downiest, fly-away mane.
But the eyes—oh, the eyes—were the most entrancing things. Birdie couldn’t tear herself away. The dark bluish-brown of a woodland pool, half concealed beneath soft, white lashes like a dusting of snow.”
6. Axehounds
This one is kind of random but I just had to include the axehounds from Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive mainly because they sound so interesting and I haven’t the faintest clue how to visualize them!
She was sleek and lean, six legs extending before her as she sat on her haunches. Axehounds didn’t have shells or skin; instead, their body was covered with some fusion of the two, smooth to the touch and more pliable than true carapace, but harder than skin and made of interlocking sections.”
Anybody? I guess I need Shallan to draw a picture for me! ;)
7. Cham Bear
The cham bear is a fire-breathing bear from Jill Williamson’s Blood of Kings Trilogy. How cool is that? Actually, probably pretty terrifying. Not the sort of beast you’d want to tangle with, but I’m sure it would be fascinating to see from a distance, and I have a soft-spot for fire-breathing beasties, so it had to make the list!
This made me even more excited for your book!
One I’d add is the Kandra from Mistborn! They are so fascinating and add a lot to the story. I also love TenSoon’s connection with Vin and the way his story plays out :)
Also – the hrossa from Lewis’ Space Trilogy are so cool! They’re like…humanoid seal beavers? Anyway, I really like their culture and language and will always weep for Hyoi.
I love TenSoon! His story is really epic, and he and Vin make a good team. And he takes the form of a wolfhound and wolfhounds are practically as cool as wolves, so he had that going for him too!
Falon from Batson’s Door Within Trilogy. I love Falon. Falon is awesome. There’s also Calcifer from Diana Wayne Jones’s Howl’s Moving Castle. I know he’s actually a fire demon and probably fits into the monsters section, but he’s lovable and cheeky, so.
Aw, Falon! Yes. She is so cool! That series was the first fantasy series I read after The Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia and it’s honestly what got me writing in the first place.
Still need to read Howl’s Moving Castle too. *sigh* So many books! So little time!
I love how you included Eanrin, although I favour Beana. While we’re on the topic of Goldstone Wood I’d also like to mention those unicorns. I’ve rarely seen unicorns portrayed in such an epic way!
Frey sounds amazing- can’t wait to read more about him!
Yes!!! Okay, confession, I was going to include the unicorns in my list. But my books are still packed away, and it’s been long enough since I read them that I felt slightly hazy on the unicorn details. But they are without a doubt one of my favorite creatures from the books simply because they are such a unique portrayal! Love it.
Ooh I can’t wait to meet Frey! When I saw the cover I was instantly curious to know more about him.
I agree about the Axehounds. I couldn’t work out how to picture them, so they turned into some sort of weird looking dog in my brain, because I couldn’t get them accurate to the description. :P
I also like the…raggart? I can’t remember what exactly it is, but it’s from the 100 Cupboards trilogy. It was a pretty cool creature.
I can’t wait for you guys to meet Frey! :) Only a few more months!!! Which is crazy.
Right? So hard to picture them. The crazy thing though is that even the fact that their name doesn’t fit is a part of the story! How in the world does Brandon Sanderson keep all those threads straight!
I still need to read the 100 Cupboards trilogy. I’ve heard so much about it, and I loved ND Wilson’s Outlaws of Time.
I can’t wait to meet Fray! Sounds intriguing!
Eanrin is such an awesome character/creature/bard… I love him.
I STILL need to read the Wingfeather Saga. *wilts in shame* The sea dragons sound epic.
Hmmm, as far as my favorites go, I wrote up a couple of posts earlier this month about common and less-common fantasy creatures I love. As far as fantastic creatures that are animal-based… well, I don’t know if they count, but the cats in the Aeronaut’s Windlass were awesome.
Hey, you should plug this post into my February is Fantasy month link-up! http://jenelleschmidt.com/fantasy-month-returns/
I was actually just thinking about the Aeronaut’s Windlass the other day! Do you know if there’s a sequel yet? Going to have to go check that out …
Also, I just realize that I’m not subscribed to your blog – which is a terrible oversight on my part! Going to correct that now. And I love your Fantasy Month Link-up. What a fun idea!
No, it hasn’t come out yet. (wails) All they’ve said is that Peace Talks (which is also TBD ) is coming out first. LOL
Yay! Thanks. There’s also a fantasy-tag game I started if you want to snag it. (you know, if you’re looking for blog-post ideas) :)
Ooh, this is awesome.
When I read the post title, all I could think about are all the creatures from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I like the Thunderbird the most, but I think I’d be okay with bowtruckle and occamy too!
Of course , there are so many other wonderful creatures too.
Haha, yes, there were so many awesome beasts in there! Particularly the Thunderbird. The niffler was adorable, but my goodness, oh so much trouble!
Gillian, there are official drawings of axehounds in some of the Stormlight Archive books—one being linked on this page. http://stormlightarchive.wikia.com/wiki/Axehound ;)
Nice! Thanks for sharing the link!