A Look at Vvardenfell’s Noteworthy Creatures

First, please allow me to introduce myself, I am Arnand Duvier, currently in the employ of the Mages Guild of Tamriel. I am the author of many books, essays, and articles on the indigineous species of Vvarndfel, such as “Cliff Racers And How To Avoid Them” and “The Observed Relationships Between Kagouti And Alit”. During my most recent excursion to Vvardenfell I came across some very bewildered tourists in both awe and fear of the wild life which they’d never seen before on Tamriel, it was then that I decided to do two things: Firstly, join them in unadvancing towards the angered Betty Netch and secondly, write an essay on the most surprising and noteworthy animals that can be found on the island of Vvardenfell.

Alit

I shall, in most typical fashion of many publications, proceed in alphabetical order, and we shall start with the aforementioned “Alit”. The Alit is a two legged creature in appearance with razor sharp teeth that dominative the mouth of the beast, which in turn dominates the body. The Alit appears to be a cumbersome and slow creature, but in actual fact can reach high speeds and catch even the most seasoned researcher by surprise. Due to its lack of forelegs it attacks prey primarily with it’s teeth and maintains good balance whilst attacking, despite its appearance.

The hide of the Alit can be tanned to make a tough leather, and is frequently traded by the Ashlander Tribes of Vvardenfell. It also holds many magical qualities that can be used by seasoned alchemists for a wide range of potions, poisons, and elixirs.

Alits are frequently found around the grasslands of Vvardenfell and the Ashlands.

Cliff Racer

Perhaps one of the most infamous creatures of Vvardenfell is the Cliff Racer, a carnivorous flying beast that terrorizes all of Morrowind, rather than just Vvardenfell. The winged menace has also been sighted on the Eastern borders of Skyrim. Although it is rumoured that their population has been dropping as of the 3^rd Era 427 (The date of this publication being 3^rd Era 428, 13th of Last Seed) Cliff Racers are still in positively frightful quantity.

The most impressive feature of the Cliff Racer is the length of the wing span, which appears to be around 1.5-2 meters, I regret to inform readers I have never stood around one long enough to measure it’s wings. Another striking feature is the long tail, which is presumably used to maintain balance whilst flying, or potentially whilst hunting, since the creature appears to be carnivorous.

The Cliff Racers plumes are often found available in the Imperial City’s many market places, and are available from alchemists for their “levitation” properties and numerous other shops for their more aesthetic qualities.

Guar

Guar are the pack animals of Vvardenfell, and the mounts of the Dunmer who see horses as a meal, rather than a noble steed. Guars are similar to Alit in many respects, such as their very strong back legs which support the entire body, and their large heads which dominate much of the creatures appearance. In contrast to the Alit, Guar are herbivorous, and easily trained to serve the native Dunmer rather than hostile, this is probably due to the beasts rows of razor sharp teeth.

The Guar is easily distinguished from the Alit by several huge differences: Primarily, its skin tone is a much lighter shade, making it easier to spot at a distance (and potentially run away from), secondly it has seemingly useless but rather interesting small arms, and thirdly it has a long thick tail protruding out of the creatures nether regions.

The Guar’s thick hide can be tanned into a leather that is frequently found all over the Empire. These hides a major export of Vvardenfell. Ashlander tribes have been known to farm packs of Guar, presumably for their hides.

Guars can be found all over Vvardenfell, and this is probably due to their adoption by the Dunmer, considering how similar creatures such as Kagouti and Alit stay mostly to the grasslands and ashlands.

Kagouti

Kagouti are the Alit’s stronger brother, and share many resemblances with their brothers, but very few with the Guar.

The Kagouti, like Alit, are aggressive carnivorous beasts (This researcher recommends the use of Levitation magics to avoid Kagouti whilst studying them) who dominate the grasslands and ashlands of Vvardenfell, presumably preying on the herbivorous creatures found around the area.

The main difference between Kagouti and Alit are the tusks which protrude forward from where cheeks would be on a Man or Mer and the two sharp fangs rather than lines of fearsome teeth. This may sound preferable, but due to the Kagouti’s fast running speed it can be crippling, if not deadly, to be caught by a charging Kagouti. The Kagouti’s charging abilities are aided by an eye ridge that allows it to charge without fear of damaging its eyes.

Similarly to its brothers, the Alit, and cousins, the Guar, the Kagouti also has a valuable hide, but it is in shorter supply than Alit and Guar hides due to the Kagouti’s significantly more ferocious and dangerous nature. The hide is said to be tough and valuable leather for fittings and armours.

Kwama

On my journeys around Vvardenfell I once met a miner, and I asked him where he works, believing there were no valuable ores or stones in the area, and I was right, much to my surprise the man explained that he, like most Miners on Morrowind, mined for Kwama Eggs, a staple of the Dunmer diet. There are many subspecies of Kwama, ranging from small slug like Foragers to the great queens. Kwama Eggs are used in a vast range of dishes due to their size and abundance, and are cooked in combination with Mudcrab Meat (which can also be found on the island) and Nix-Hound meat to create two unexpectedly tasty dishes.

The Forager, smallest of the subspecies (except perhaps the Scrib) is unduly aggressive for it’s size. It is, as aforementioned, a small slug like creature with a beak and three black, menacing, evil eyes. I shudder to think about the beast, and as I write this I figuratively tremble (If I trembled no one would be able to read my writing) as I think of the “Kwama Cuttle” which the Forager produces at alarming quantities. It is a thick waxy substance that is produced from the Kwama’s beak and has modest magical properties such as a resistance to poisons.

The Kwama Scrib is the larval form of Kwama, a small ant like creature with a white chitin exoskeleton and six legs. Although the Scrib is not a very dangerous critter it is, like the Forager, unduly aggressive for its size, and, unlike the Forager, produces a weak Paralysis Poison from within its body.

The Kwama Worker is one of the species few non-aggressive subspecies, and will only attack if provoked (or it’s queen is harmed). The Worker does most of the work around a Kwama mine by digging tunnels for the Queens eggs and attending to the Queens needs. Unlike many of Vvardenfells beast the Kwama has a rather ordinary number of legs, four to be precise, a number of legs befitting most non-sentient beings.

The Warrior is my personal least favourite form of Kwama. It is aggressive, and unlike the Scrib or Forager, it is appropriately aggressive to its size. The Warrior’s job within the mine is to protect the queen from invaders, such as researchers and miners. The Warrior excels at it’s job using it’s powerful front arms which can shatter wood, bones, and the resolve of Bretons.

The Queen is the central figure of the mine, and what all Kwama mines over Vvardenfell revolve around. The Queen is a huge monstrosity of a creature that lays eggs through a huge egg sac protruding from it’s rear end. The Queen, despite appearances, is not hostile in it’s nature, and will not attack anyone unless attacked, but it is heavily guarded by the dutiful Kwama Warriors which are not quite as welcoming to visitors, regardless of how important a blood sample is.

Netch

Netch are the main cattle of civilized Vvardenfell and are a magnificent sight to see. The Bull (Male) Netch is the larger of the two very different genders and has a thick hide that covers a sack of jellyish substance known as the “Float Sack”. The Float sack, found on both genders, is a sack of magical vapours that keep the majestic beast afloat as it soars gracefully over the ground.

The female, or Betty Netch, is the more aggressive of the two genders, and has an external float sack that moves with the Netch. The Betty Netch is much smaller and lighter skinned compared to the Bull.

Whilst in the wild Netch herd in ratios of 1 Betty and up-to 8 Bull, but in captivity the ratios are kept closer to one to one in order to raise conception rates. This causes the Betty Netch to be much more hostile in captivity than it would ordinarily be in the wild.

Some Bull Netch have known to display poisonous qualities when threatened by prey, or their flesh is improperly ingested.

Netch are farmed for their valuable leather which surpasses Guar Leather in it’s quality.

Nix Hounds

Nix Hounds are canine predators who hunt in packs all over Vvardenfell. Whilst the Nix Hound is quite large (and one of the few quadrupedal creatures on Vvardenfell) it lacks a strong way of attacking it’s prey, but it makes up for this by numbers and speed.

The only valuable part of the Nix Hound is the meat, which can be found on the dinner table of many Dunmer. The meat when prepared properly is one of the most filling meals a researcher could hope for after a long day of cataloguing seashells.

Shalk

Shalk are insects which can be found on Vvardenfell’s grasslands and ashlands. The shalk is said to be very resistant to fire, and rumoured to have lava flow through it’s veins by some Ashlander myths. The Shalks resistance to (and rumoured use of) fire is met with a weakness to cold, and Wizards with a helpful Ice spell at hand have nothing to fear.

Shalk have been known, on occasion, to reside within Kwama mines peacefully alongside the Kwama and it’s many subspecies.

The only valuable part of the Shalk is the resin which the Shalk produces which when ingested properly can assist in the healing of wounds, or knock someone out, depending on how it is prepared. Despite it’s interesting properties Shalk Resin is rarely distributed outside of Morrowind.

Silt Striders

Silt Striders are enormous insect like anthropods with six long thing legs (seemingly ending points) and two long thin arms, also ending in points. The arms and legs seem remarkably similar, to the point that’s it questionable as to whether they are different sets of limbs and the behavior of the strider is to treat them as arms or whether they are actually arms like Men and Mer have. On top of their long legs and potential arms the Silt Strider has a thick carapace which houses all of it’s organs.

Silt Striders are not an aggressive animal, and handle difficult terrain with ease due to their height and slender legs, because of this they have been tamed by Dunmer as the primary form of transport around Vvardenfell (which would not be suitable for horse and carts due to the varying degrees of terrain such as marsh and rocky canyons). The Strider is guided by the rider which sits within a hollowed out part of the shell where they guide the Strider by manipulating the behemoths organs and nerves. Customers hiring a silt strider also sit within this hollowed out part, along with any goods, and from personal experience I would like to note that one should not wear ones best robes when travelling by Silt Strider.

This researcher also notes that the Silt Strider Caravaneer by the name "Selvil Sareloth" is not to be trusted with valuables, as I am most certain he stole my compass.

Wolves

I’m sure many readers, who haven’t visited Vvardenfell, are currently thinking “Wolves are everywhere! Of course they’re on Vvardenfell!” and many other readers who have visited Vvardenfell are muttering to themselves “That was a waste of a very reasonable 5 septims.” I would like to state that Wolves can be found on Vvardenfell and this is surprising. The lack of “normal cyrodiilic animals” on Vvardenfell is astounding, and an ordinary hunter would be surprised to learn of the lack of Deer, Bears, Wolves, Large Cats, and even ordinary Birds (I blame the Cliff Racers). Vvardenfell has a landscape that is incredibly alien compared to Cyrodiil, Skyrim, High Rock, Hammerfell, or even Valenwood, and is perhaps only comparable in it’s oddities to the Black Marsh (which this researcher refuses to visit on moral grounds). Wolves are an incredibly rare sight on Vvardenfell, and are usually found in service as domesticated guard dogs.

I speculate that Wolves are either taken from the borders of mainland Morrowind, or Solstheim at a young age and bought to Vvardenfell as guards because of their ferocity.