Dragons Eyes Smooth oval crystals ranging in size from thumb nails to large plates, Dragons Eyes allow anyone to see an object they desperately want. Very few details are shown to people who have no magical or scrying experience. But it can let a parent know if their child is alive or dead, or that an object is surrounded by grass. In the hands of a wizard or professional scryer, it acts as a natural conduit for their ability. What would normally take hours of concentration, takes minutes, and allows wizards to pierce all but the strongest anti-scrying spells. While rare they can be found in areas where magic has been extensively used, either in limited amounts over decades, or a massive battle between groups of wizards. No attempts to make Dragons Eyes artificially have succeeded, they can only be found by digging. Unnatural Weather
I want to keep this thread going if possible, so I'll answer my respond to my own suggestion. The Devils Dust Very few people live in the Tansher Desert, none live there for long. An eternal dust storm roams the vast desert like a predator searching for living creatures. When this 10 mile wide storm comes across a living creature it attacks with cutting sand, 150 mph winds, animalistic howls that cause paralyzing terror in animals, and disorients anyone close by. The few survivors tell how the storm changed direction trying to catch them, or to cut them off, proving it has at least limited intelligence. No one has been able to stop or fend off the Devils Dust. Only by scattering and praying you are not the one it decides to chase can you survive. Fortunately for the world it cannot move beyond a certain point in the Tansher Desert. You know where this is as the hardiest cactus, and small animals grow there. Within the Devils Dust area there is only dust and bone. Next idea: A sea creature.
The Undra Fish is a mottled brown color with venemous spines, but can change it's appearance by moving it's fins and making use of it's ability to manipulate light; it can change color, glow, or become completely invisible. At night it is noted for it's ability to mimic the luminescent corals that dot the oceans, and preys on the fish that eat the corals. They either latch on with their muscular jaws with extremely long teeth (well hidden due to their relatively high, thin profile) or allow the victim to envenom themselves on their spines. They have a very large brain due to the complexities of their different mechanisms. Next up: A decorative shrub!
In Tropical areas there is a friut called the 'Mansa' with is a large, round, orangy-yellow thing with a hard skin coverd in a posienus liquid, but inside an incredably sweet juicey filling.
I'll make one up for a solar object. Curse Bringer Approximately every two years a second moon comes close to the planet. It is a time of floods, ill fortune, and insanity. The Curse Bringer is an ugly brown object that astrologers watch closely, trying to determine exactly when it will bring its curse down upon the world. For two weeks it fills the skies, causing the seas to rise up in revulsion swamping land with enormous tides. The light from it confuses the animals, and disturbs the sleep of the innocent. It's visage drives people to murder and maim their fellow men. When it is in the sky, people offer prayers, incense, sacrifice, and other things depending on their religions, begging for their Gods to once more force the cursed thing away. Children unlucky enough to be born when it is in the sky are considered unlucky, and will sometimes be killed, shunned, or enslaved. It is not a happy time. Next: A Festival
The Falling Sky Festival History The Falling Sky festival is held five years at Fowl Hill in memory of the purple and blue meteor shower some centuries back when an army of savage subterranean Oafals had invaded the Free Province Village. Since Oafals were an ignorant lot and also superstitious, they were scared witless by a phenomenon that repeats every five years in the area (they didn't know this, beside they don't see much of the sky) after a group of happy and drunk mages had cast a permanent spell some years back on their way back from the tavern. A large group of villagers had been captured and were on there way to torture on the hill where the enemy camped when the meteor shower began. Garn Fowl, a farmer who was getting increasing hysterical began screaming that the sky was falling. Seeing that the stupid Oafals were beginning to look scared, the villagers picked up the cry and soon there was chaos in the camp with people running every where. The Oafals ran for their lives trying to get to their subterranean dwellings as fast as they could. By the time they realised that they had been tricked, a week had passed and the King's Army had attacked the Oafals instead. Garn Fowl got special honours for his service. Now Every five years during the meteor night, there is a grand fair at Fowl Hill and a re-enactment of the defeat of the Oafals. There are rides, games, a lot of drinking, feasting and dancing and the festival lasts till dawn. Next: A pet animal
The Blood Owl, which, when wild, hunts through the temperate forests for large rodents and small game, is a common pet of the hunters in the northern reaches of civilization. The owl is three feet tall, with a sharp beak and especially sharp talons that it uses to impale its prey. The Blood Owl is so named because it begins eating its pray by draining the blood from the wounds. After a blood owl has eaten, it's feathers take on a red coloration and seem to glisten, as if freshly soaked in blood, though they are dry to the touch. Hunters and warriors use them as scouts because they have particularly sharp eyes, and each has a unique call which a hunter or warrior can quickly learn. The call has different pitches and modulations corresponding to the significance of a threat or the size of potential prey, making it an invaluable tool in times of war. Next: A plant that has religious meaning and importance.
Plagues Bane (Also known as Sinners Bane) A unique pitcher plant grows in the southern forests. Like most pitcher plants it attracts animals with a sweet smelling juice that is actually an acid. Unlike other pitcher plants this is about 4 feet wide and can hold a small child, and its acid is strong enough to burn flesh. It mainly attracts rodents, who climb inside to get at the liquid only to slip on the slippery and extremely hard sides and drown in the acid. According to the religious order of the Southern Lands, the Saviour created this plant when a plague of rodents swarmed the lands, bringing disease and famine. Thus they are held in high regard as a symbol of the Saviours love. All farms, temples and pastures have at least one Plagues Bane growing within its confines. It is also used in religious ceremonies. Priests of the Southern Lands use the acid to brand their holy symbol on their hands. It is a sign of their piousness, and willingness to accept the Saviour into their body and act as the Saviours body on Earth. Heretics and people who commit crimes against the church on the other hand are branded on the face. This is an excruciating process. But if criminals do not cry out as the acid burns them, they are declared innocent. The brands on their faces are a distinguished marked and they are never questioned again about that crime. (If they know a person is guilty they usually use a stronger acid.) For heretics, if they do not cry out and will recant their sins, they are allowed to reenter the church at whatever position they held previously and any records of their wrong doings are erased. If they do not recant they are exiled, but they are left alive and with all their mobile possessions. Other people will use the acid to burn their flesh if they feel they have sinned mightily. The pain they suffer and the scars they burn are suppose to purify their soul, cleansing them of that particular sin. Next: A body of water.
The demonic sea A tiny expanse of ocean fourty or so leagues wide. Its waters shift and change so that the sea level drops and rises, and formations of islands sink and re-appear at a moments notice. This sea is rumoured to hide many secrets, even an ancient elder shrine rumoured to be in its depths, but it has never been seen to rise from the demonic sea. Many ships have been lost in that expanse of the ocean, and as more fall, the sea only grows more dangerous. No-one has ever come back from the demonic sea. Righty, now someone can do a sea leviathan
Leviathan Some say this creature was born of a Kraken and a Great Dragon. Others that it is a defeated and lamed God forced to Earth. Others say it is the oldest creature gone mad from age. No one knows the truth, all they know is when the Leviathan approaches, Death marches with it. This creature sleeps in the ocean, sometimes for decades, sometimes centuries. When it rises all sea creatures and sea birds flee. Fish, dolphins, and whales will purposefully beach themselves in massive suicidal acts, if they are within 50 miles of the Leviathan. If they have the chance they will swim into the open ocean and head thousands of miles away. Traditions amongst the people living along the oceans tell people to flee leaving everything they own if the birds fly away, and the fish leave the ocean. Some cities in the path of the Leviathan have fought. They have been utterly devastated, and the Leviathan never even slowed. It will wander the ocean for a week or so eating everything in its path and then head back into the ocean depths to rest. Allowing the people and animals to recover in time for its next feeding. Next: A famous structure.
The Cosmos Planetarium An amagulation of science and art. Inside dwells artist J. Dwarti's replica of the Hubble Deep Space photograph backed by a huge mirror titled: The Echo Universe. The mirror reflects our very own identity in contrast to the heavens, while the galaxies show our place in the universe as humans. Our history compared to ourselves, our infancy compared to the universe. Next: A fictional work of art that triggers strong emotion.
