On Monsters: Their Origin and Nature

The second treatise on the supernatural authored by Sonoda Kinuko. It follows up from her previous work On the Arcane: Magical Energy and Its Practical and Theoretical Applications in which she established the highly probable existence of another reality referred to as the Aether. This work details how the Monsters that had always plagued societies with their sudden and unexpected appearances also had their origins from the same reality.

General Understanding of Monsters Prior to this Work

A Monster is defined as a creature which is hostile to all other forms of life and is not normally a part of the ecosystem they inhabit. While there are some wild animals that are referred to or are described as monstrous, but they only attack when survival requires it. Monsters on the other hand seem to hunt for sport. While they usually do eat their prey, they also often go out of their way to kill animals and people that they don't bother attempting to eat.

As their mere existence is a threat, through out history many attempts at extermination have been made. Many such expeditions have been successful, leading to the 'extinct' species of Monster to not be seen for many generations. Inevitably, that species would return. It was commonly believed that the work was just left incomplete, while others felt that the presence of these Monsters was being mandated by one or more Gods.

The Origin of Monsters

Kinuko's research into Magical Energy had provided her with a strong start on discovering the origin of Monsters. After further investigation into Aether Storms, which only made a brief appearance in her last work, she found that Monsters had a similar origin. When Aethegen leaks into reality at a higher rate than normal in an area it can cause either an Aether Storm or a Monster may slip into reality at that location instead.

It is unclear as to what purpose these Monsters enter our reality for. Some Monster's behavior seems to indicate some level of confusion when observed shortly after their arrival. Perhaps they are being pulled from their homes without warning? Regardless of if this conjecture is true or not, that does not preclude the possibility of it being directed by some higher power to a currently unknown end. We were able to capture a live Manticore shortly after it arrived in our reality using the predictive formulae detailed earlier in the text. We attempted to devise some method of communication with the beast, however, after the deaths of both Aiduin Cailynn and Thalia Syldin it was deemed to be impossible at this time.

— Sonoda Kinuko

Legacy

The data presented in this text was crucial to the development of Aedar, which allows the detection of possible Aether Storms and Monster incursions with some degree of accuracy. The early warnings provided by Aedar have saved countless lives.