Ah, the elusive Udumbara. Patient. Silent. Deadly. This massive man-eating plant is rarely seen until it bursts forth from the ground to feed. So difficult is this mark to find, it takes its name from a tree of legend whose flowers are said to bloom only once every three thousand years. One theory has it that Udumbara sense the silent screams of nearby vegetation, their unheard cacophony bringing word of approaching prey. Maphap there is a way to use this knowledge to coax the monster from its earthen nest...

  Fearing their many natural predators, antlions prefer to burrow beneath the ground and lie in wait for their prey in relative safety. But Orcus is of a different breed?this monster will hunt along the surface, as bold as you please. As well she might. Why should Orcus cower from aught which walks or flies when she can spit a secretion caustic enough to erode steel? It is said that she only began displaying such behavior after the expansion of her hunting grounds brought her closer to the Percipient One. Could this proximity have influenced the vilekin's sudden transformation in some way? A worthy mystery.

  You wish to learn what I know of Erle? Of the venomous sting potent enough to fell a jhammel? Of the hurricane winds whipped forth by the beating of her wings? There is a tale I heard from the Ananta. It is told that the Nunh of the M Tribe went forth to battle this vilekin queen, trapping her within a cavern even as her stingers injected his heart with lethal venom. When the Yawn opened up, however, the ripples collapsed the cavern's walls, and the imprisoned Erle was set free once again.

  Amongst the Qalyana there was a maiden known as Yamini. Born under a star of resplendent arcane bounty, her potent magicks brought her to the unfortunate attention of imperial recruiters. Alliance spies determined that they took the Ananta lass to a well-secured corner of Ala Mhigo, where they imprisoned her inside a testing facility. What foul experiments they performed upon her, I cannot say, but when she was at last released, Yamini had lost all semblance of her former self. She dwelled in a place of shadow, existing only to bring harm unto others.

  Ouzelum is a gagana of frightening size, his beak sickle-sharp and often strung with the gore of his latest victim. His stunted wings could never lift his bulk, but do not think yourself safe on higher ground?the bird's powerful legs propel him over the largest boulders with ease. For the Ananta and the M tribe of the Fringes, this flesh-craving terror has proven a constant threat to safety and sanity. In fact, several years ago there was a string of incidents involving the disappearance of the M tribe's young. When the Miqo'te followed the trail of the suspected kidnapper, it led to one of Ouzelum's known haunts and a heart-wrenching pile of small, gnawed bones...