Creature Almanac: July Edition
Every month, The Lorekeeper's Journal introduces 9 new creatures to use in your fantasy writing! They change out the 1st of the month, so keep an eye out! Each creature comes with a brief description and a writer's tip.

Anubis are Deity-born humanoid beings with the head of a jackal or canine. They live near tombs, deserts, necropolises and spiritual planes connected to death and rebirth. The are psychopomps who guide souls to the afterlife. Derived from Egyptian lore. Writer's Tip: Use Anubis-folk as gatekeepers of ancient crypts or spiritual advisors tied to celestial law. They work well in stories about soul travel, divine trial, or ghostly diplomacy.

Banshee are spirits or death fae. They are pale, veiled figures, usually ghost-like in appearance. They live near homes of families fated to suffer death. Their wailing cry foretells the downfall of a soul. Writer's Tip: Banshees can be expanded into a broader race of grief-fae or omens of fate. Not all need to be mournful, they could be messengers, fate weavers or death wardens.

Chimera are Aberrant hybrids. They typically have a lion's body, a goat's head and a serpent's tail. Modern versions wildly differ. They live in remote mountains, corrupted territories and alchemical labs. They are a chaotic fusion of magic and physical strength. Writer's Tip: Use Chimera's as failed experiments, living war machines, or chaotic beasts from forbidden magic.

Dokkaebi are trickster spirits. They are goblin-like with horns, wide grins and ornate robes or armor. They live in abandoned houses, mountain roads or sacred stones. They can bless or curse depending on their mood. Writer's Tip: Ideal for stories with moral twists. They can reward or punish greed, adding to folklore logic on quests.

Dragons are ancient beasts and elemental titans. They have many sub-classes such as drakes or wyverns. They vary greatly by region. They live in all sorts of terrain, usually away from other settlements. They are symbols of wisdom, power, destruction and divinity. Writer's Tip: Make dragons culturally specific and ecologically believable. Treat them as apex predators or ancient gods.

Draugr are undead creatures. They are rotting or corpse-pale hominoids in armor, often with glowing eyes and bloated forms. They reside in barrows, grave mounds, cursed battlefields and forgotten lakes. In mythology, they are revenants; undead warriors bound to their graves by greed, vengeance or unresolved duty. Writer's Tip: Use them as cursed kinds, eternal wardens, or mindless beings controlled by necromancers. Give them relics to guard.

Fae are the branch name for otherworldly folk such as elves, sprites, nymphs, dryads, ect. They inhabit all types of places, but they all originate from the Faewyld. They are found in all types of mythology. Writer's Tip: Think of the Fae as a spectrum: From appearance to personality, they are everything. They also thrive on rules, bargains and beauty.

Fenrir are beasts of prophecy. They are massive wolves often depicted as ferocious beings larger than horses. They have immense strength, prophetic presence, and deathless resilience. Writer's Tip: Treat Fenrir as a species; world wolves, chained to different realms.

Naga are Serpent folk or guardian spirits. They have a human torso with a long snake like tail in place of legs; sometime with multiple arms or a cobra head. They live in temples, deep jungles, underwater sacred spaces or springs. They are seen as semi-divine guardians or destroyers. Writer's Tip: Use Naga's as temple defenders, divine emissaries, or underwater judges.