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Salamaes
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Centuries ago, when the founders of the Sable Kingdom were exploring the continent in search of a location for their capital city, they met with a tribe of salamaes who were living in the swamps just north of modern day Sable City. They found them to be a friendly, fun-loving race of individuals, and an alliance was quickly and easily struck. They assisted with clearing the surrounding lands of dangers, and participated in the founding and the construction of the capital city. Ever since then salamaes have made up a significant portion of the population of Sable Kingdom and its surrounding lands.
Salamaes are humanoid, amphibious creatures that are slightly shorter and significantly less muscular than humans. Their skin is very smooth and usually dark colored with bright spots of various hues. They have a thin tail that tapers along its approximate 3 foot length. They have thin tongues and wide, round eyes. They are generally very social, friendly creatures (at least to their allies). Like other humanoids, they are warm blooded.
Salamaes are intelligent and agile beings, who are also known to be quite lucky. They are slight of build, and though this makes them less hardy than a human or dwarf, they are certainly not weak or fragile. They are well suited to almost every guild (except necromancers), and they make especially good mages, thieves, clerics, and rangers.

Salamander
The salamander (the name possibly coming from the Greek salambe meaning 'fireplace') was often visualized as a small dragon or lizard. But, what set the salamander apart from other lizards or serpents was the fact that it was a fire elemental. According to Aristotle and Pliny, the salamander not only resisted fire, but could extinguish it and would charge any flame that it saw as if it were an enemy. Some thought that the reason the salamander was able to withstand and extinguish fire, was that it was incredibly cold, and it would put out fire on contact. The salamander was also considered to be very poisonous, so much so, that a person would die from eating the fruit form a tree around which a salamander had entwined itself.
The foundation of its fire resistant powers may be based on the fact that the real salamander secretes milky juice form the pores of its body when its irritated. This would doubtless defend the animal for a few moments from fire. Salamanders also are hibernating creatures who often retire to hollow trees or other cavities in the winter, where it coils himself up and remains in a torpid state until the spring. It was therefore sometimes carried in with the fuel to the fire, and the salamander would wake up with only enough time to put for all of its faculties for its defense.

Satyrs
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In Greek mythology the satyrs are deities of the woods and mountains. They are half human and half beast; they usually have a goat's tail, flanks and hooves. While the upper part of the body is that of a human, they also have the horns of a goat. They are the companions of Dionysus, the god of wine, and they spent their time drinking, dancing, and chasing nymphs. The Italian version of the satyr is the faun, while the Slavonic version is the Ljeschi.

Breeds Examples: Korred, Sylvan.

Scorpiens
Though denied by Scorpiens, it is generally accepted that their race was the result of the experimentation of a guild of mages and alchemists from an ancient civilization that once ruled somewhere on the continent of Sable. Old texts have hinted at their creation as the result of this guild's desire to create a super army of extremely puissant beings. They combined normal humans (Homo Sapiens) with desert scorpions to produce this mixed breed known today as Scorpiens.
Scorpiens possess a thick, chitinous carapace that serves as excellent body armor, but prevents them from wearing similar man made protection. Their respiratory system requires that most of their body remain uncovered by leather or metal.
They also have a long, powerful tail that ends in a sharp hook which they use to strike painful blows upon enemies while in battle. Sadly, the poison of the desert scorpion did not survive the union with Homo Sapiens. Most likely, it had to be removed in order to allow the human portion to survive.

Sea-serpent
Reported world-wide as a huge snake-like form in the seas, sometimes it is said to have a crest. It slides through the waters or lies on the surface and can attack ships and whales.

Sea-stag
The sea-stag has the body of a stag ending in a fish-tail. It appears frequently in German Heraldry.

Sea-urchin
Called Echidnas in the Bestiaries, the sea-urchin is said to foretell the coming of a storm by taking on a stone as an anchor. It is a poor, blind creature and a symbol of God caring for the weakest. Celtic tradition calls it the 'serpent's egg'; it represents the seed, latent force, life.

Seal
Pliny says that there was a belief that the seal was the only animal never struck by lightning and that 'no living creature sleepeth more soundly.' The Romans believed that seal-skins protected against thunder storms.
In European myth and fairy tale seals, like swan maidens, can change into humans as Selchies and can mate with humans. The seal is one of the animal ancestors. If the skin of the seal is stolen while it is in human form the seal cannot return to the sea. In the Faroes there is a legend that seals cast their skins every ninth night, appearing and dancing on land as mortals until dawn.
The Innuits (Eskimos) have a Bearded Seal Festival in the autumn with a ritual killing and propitiatory rites in which the bladders of all seals caught must be returned to the sea. These rites are the last of the festival, which requires a month's preparation.

Sefert
A fabulous Egyptian creature with the head of a hawk and the body of a lion and wings, he was keeper of the parts of the body of Osiris.

Seps
A tiny snake which Lucan says destroys bones and bodies with its poison - hence the word 'septic'.

Serpent
There is no cult more universal or ambivalent than that of the serpent and few creatures have been regarded with more awe, reverence and fear than the snake with its strange sinuous movement, the rapidity with which it can strike a death-dealing blow, either through strength or venom, its underground dwelling which puts it in touch with the powers of the underworld and its ability to cast its skin with apparent renewal of fife. Associated with graves it was frequently accepted as a form of the dead returned to the upperworld.
The symbolism of the serpent is polyvalent: it can be male, female or self-created; it is solar and lunar, life and death, good and evil, healing and poison. It embodies all potentialities, both material and physical; it is masculine and phallic 'the husband of all women' but accompanies the Great Mother deities as intuitional wisdom, the secret and the enigmatic. It is a mediator between the three worlds, the sky in that it resembles solar rays and lightning, the earth and the primordial waters, from which all creation emerges, and the underworld, in which it lives. It is often depicted as encircling the world - the Ouroboros. As Joseph Campbell 'Serpents seem to incarnate the elementary mystery of life wherever apparent opposites are conjoined.'
The serpent and the Dragon are often interchangeable, while in China and Japan the dragon largely takes the place of the serpent and has the same significance. In Sumero-Semitic myth the Serpent of Darkness, the 'footless' Tiamat is depicted as a dragon and represents chaos, the undifferentiated, guile and evil and is overcome by the Sun God Marduk. Lakhmu and Lakhamu are serpents of the sea and give birth to the male and female principles of heaven and earth. Ishtar the Great Mother Goddess and Nidaba the Corn Goddess are accompanied by serpents or have them springing from their shoulders; this is also seen with the Dying God Son. The snake is 9 form of the Canaanite Bel and the serpent set on a pole was a symbol of healing in Canaan and Philistia. The Phrygian Sabazius has a serpent as his chief attribute and it appears upon his votive hand; in worship his priestess held a golden snake *which she dropped through her robes from her bosom to represent through the bosom'.
As elsewhere, the serpent is ambivalent in Egypt. There are many references to serpents in the sacred books and in myths, but most of them are accepted as different aspects of the monster-serpent Apop, Apep or Apopis, symbolic of all that is evil; he is Set in his typhonic aspect, the demon of darkness, of thunderstorms, lightning and whirlwinds, who tried to prevent the sun from rising by obstructing the barque of the Sun God Ra. Apop is depicted in company with a demon in crocodile form whose tail ends in the shape of a serpent's head. In other cases the serpent is wisdom and a power for good. There was a huge speckled serpent Kheti, known as the Spitting Serpent, with seven undulations; through its open mouth it belches fire at the faces of the enemies of Ra. There are also twelve small serpents who pour fire out of their bodies to light Ra on his way and the serpents depicted at the side of the sun disc represent the goddesses who, as royal serpents, drove out the enemies of Ra. The royal serpent is the uraeus, the cobra, worn on the head of Ra to represent the supreme divine, royal power and wisdom. The snake goddess Buto also takes the form of a cobra. A lion-headed serpent protects against evil. The asp was also venerated.
In Mithraism the snake is beneficent; with the dog it is portrayed lapping up the life-blood of the sacrificial Bull and it is also depicted as travelling beside the God's horse to protect him. In Zoroastrianism it is again evil and a symbol of Ahriman, 'the Fiendish -Snake, the antagonist of all moral order, depicted as the tyrant king Azhi Dahaka who has serpents springing from his shoulders.
Pet snakes were kept and encouraged in Greek, Roman and Cretan households. They were associated with the deities of healing and fertility and with the Mystery Cult Saviour divinities, they also represented the beneficent spirits of the dead or were incarnations of the dead. The serpent is prominent in medicine, being an attribute of Asclepios, son of Apollo and God of Medicine- He took the form of a serpent when he appeared in Rome during the plague. Hippocrates was also so represented when he delivered Athens from the plague. Hermes and Hygeia, daughter of Asclepios, are also associated with the serpent of healing, which was portrayed by the Caduceus. But the serpent typifies darkness in connection with Apollo, for he slew the Python which came from the mud of the deluge of Deucalion; Apollo at Delphi is light overcoming darkness. As associated with the underworld of Pluto serpents are coiled on the chariot wheels of Persephone and Hermes/Mercury's caduceus has underworld connections in his aspect as a psychopomp. The vital principle, the soul, was said to leave the body in the form of a snake. Zeus, Father of the Gods and Men, has the serpent as a phallic symbol and it appears with him in his many different aspects as Zeus/Ammon, Zeus/Chthonios and Zeus/Meihchios; in these aspects he could appear in snake form.
The serpent symbol was paramount in agricultural societies, denoting the fertility of the earth, and as it sheds its skin, the renewal of life. Triptolemus, fabled to have taught the people agriculture, is represented with a winged car drawn by serpents. The serpent was sacred to Athena as wisdom and a caged serpent was the Guardian Spirit of her temple at Athens. Women with hair of serpents, such as Medusa, Gaia and the Erinyes, typify the powers of enchantment and magic connected with the wisdom and guile of the serpent.
In the same way Rome associated the serpent with Saviour deities, healing and fertility, Hygeia being identified with Salus and Minerva as Athena and wisdom. Snakes were kept or encouraged in the household as the protective spirits, the Lares. The Cretan Mother Goddess, also a protector of the household, holds snakes in both hands, and on coins she is shown as caressing a snake. The serpent could be an ancestor or incarnation of the dead and was often depicted on burial places as symbolizing resurrection and immortality.
Numerous myths are recorded by the ancient writers. Plutarch says the serpent is a symbol of the deity, as it feeds on its own body, and as all springs from God, so all will be returned to God. Aristotle and Herodotus write of flying serpents. Ovid and Pliny record the ancient belief that snakes were born from the spinal marrow of a human corpse, but Achan adds that they generate only from the bodies of bad men. It was believed that the snake injected venom with its tongue, though another view was that it struck with its tail. Pliny and others maintain that the reptile is dirn-sighted. Snakes have certain antipathies - they will not go near an oil tree, avoid trefoil and clover and dislike box wood for its hardness and cypress for its bitterness. Striking a serpent with a reed will kill it. Eating snakes causes rejuvenation.
For the Hebrew the snake was an unclean food and its symbolism is generally evil; it represents the souls of the damned in Sheol. But the brazen serpent of Moses is homeopathic, 'like heals like', and was also his magic rod. The serpent is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, first as the Tempter at the Fall, then as an object of general dread, danger, subtlety and deceit, also as a symbol of the sharp-tongued and those deaf to the truth, as it was believed the adder was totally deaf. The serpent was cursed by god 'above every beast of the field' and was put at enmity with mankind. Satan is a serpent of the deep and lightning is the 'crooked serpent'.
The snake was an important Celtic cult creature, appearing with deities. The ram-headed serpent is the most frequent attribute of the Homed God, Cemunnos, as incarnating virility and fertility. The serpent again appears as an emblem of the Great Mother, the Celtic Bride, who had a festival at which the Snake Goddess was worshipped. She was later adopted by Christianity as St Bridgit.
In Norse mythology the serpent Nidhogg, the Dread Biter, lives at the foot of the Cosmic Tree, the Yggdrasil, continually gnawing at it and representing the evil powers of the universe. The Midgard serpent envelops the world with the endless coils of the abyss of the oceans. At Ragnarok, or Doomsday, the malevolent serpent Midhgardh floods the world with its venom but dies in the flood it causes.
The Vile (singular Vila) of the Serbs were shape-shifters and could transform themselves into serpents or swans. Christian symbolism is ambivalent where the serpent is concerned: it can represent Christ as wisdom and, as raised on the Cross (the Tree of Life) it is Christ's sacrifice for the healing and salvation of the world. The serpent at the foot of the Cross, however, is evil, it is the Tempter, the agent of the Fall, the Devil; it is overcome by the Cross. The serpent is often depicted entwining the Cross or a tree, if with the Tree of Life it represents wisdom and is beneficent, with the Tree of Knowledge it is Lucifer and malefic. Dante equates the serpent with the damned, but Tertullian says that Christians called Christ 'The Good Serpent'. The Virgin Mary is portrayed crushing the head of the serpent, in marked contrast to Eve's yielding to it.
The Pbysiologus says that the serpent has four characteristics:

• Growing old it fasts forty days, goes into a crevice and casts its skin to renew its youth. So must man put off the old Adam and pass through the strait gate.
• Going to drink it leaves its venom in its hole; so he who would refresh his soul at the waters of life must leave behind all carnal sins.
• The serpent fears a naked man and flees from him, but will attack him if clothed. When Adam was naked in the Garden the serpent could do him no harm; so if we put off the vanities of the world the serpent can do us no harm and we need not fear the assaults of the wily serpent, the Devil.
• When one seeks to kill a serpent it exposes its whole body in order to save its head; so must the Christian endure every trial and affliction for the sake of Christ, the head. The serpent also stops its ears to the music of the charmer; so must we close our ears to Satanic suggestions.

Nature - the cosmic power, the shakti, the non-manifest - is symbolized by the serpent in Hinduism. As the cosmic ocean Vishnu sleeps on the coiled serpent of the primordial waters, the unpolarized state before creation; his two serpents, or nagas whose bodies intertwine - depict the fertilization of the waters; from their union rises the Earth Goddess. The dark serpent, the potentiality of fire, is a manifestation of the Vedic Fire God Agni. It is lightning, the divine spear and warlike power. As Kaliya, the serpent king slain by Krishna, the serpent is evil and Krishna is often portrayed dancing on its head or with it underfoot. Bala-Rama, brother of Krishna, was an incarnation of the serpent Sasha, chief of the nagas. Ananta, the thousand-headed ruler of the serpents, represents the 'endless', infinite fertility; Vritra, the imprisoner of the waters, is the underworld darkness which swallows the waters and causes drought; while Ahi, 'the throttler', is a three-headed snake slain by Indra, who releases the waters again with his thunderbolt. Two serpents moving upward and downward symbolize the Sleep and Awakening of the cyclic nights and days of Brahma (see also Naga).
Nagas also appear in Buddhism. The Buddha changed himself into one to heal the people at a time of disease and famine. He tamed the nagas and became their king and thus a controller of the rain and waters. Nagas were present at his birth and he is depicted as seated on or protected by them. But the snake in Buddhism can represent anger; it appears at the centre of the Round of Existence with the pig as greed and the cock as carnal passion; the three representing the sins which bind humanity to the world of illusion.
The Dragon largely takes the place of the snake in China, but when the two are distinguished the snake becomes malevolent, destructive, deceitful and cunning; it is a symbol of sycophancy and is one of the five poisonous creatures. In yin-yang representation the brother and sister Fo-hi and Niu-kua can be portrayed as two intertwined snakes with human heads; they have affinities with caduceus symbolism. She-Wang, the King of Serpents, is depicted in various forms but mostly as a snake. The Snake is the sixth of the animals of the Twelve Tmestrial Branc. 'In Japan Susanoo, God of Thunder and Storms, is personified by a serpent. For the Ainu of Japan the first serpent came down with such force that it made a hole in the ground, but this hole led to the underworld and the original snake now has its abode there as King of the Serpents. Snakes are feared; having established themselves on earth they dislike mankind and do it harm. A phallic symbolism is shown in that the snake came down from heaven accompanied by the Goddess of Fire, with whom he was in love; it is considered dangerous for a woman to have a snake cross her path, as it will possess her.
In Polynesia the serpent can be a world creator and in some parts is said to live underground and will ultimately become the destroyer of the world. It is also usually associated with pregnancy. For the Australian Aboriginal the snake is the masculine principle and lightning; again it is connected with pregnancy. The Rainbow Serpent, also called the Celestial Serpent, is of great importance in the myths. It is the Water Spirit who gave the people the first water by urinating, otherwise all would have died of drought and thirst. She also showed them how to dig for food and how to breathe; she shapes babies inside their mothers. Also the Old Woman came from the sea in the form of a serpent and gave birth to the Ancestors. The Rainbow Serpent is a creator, a sky hero, associated with the Dream journey and Dream Time ceremonies. It varies in different parts of Australia, being either bisexuals masculine or the Old Woman. The name Ungad is sometimes used. In Maori lore the serpent represents earthly wisdom, it is a swamp worker connected with irrigation and growth. Cambodia was founded by the marriage of a prince to a serpent and snakes feature prominently at Ankor.
The Plumed or Feathered Serpent, attribute of Quetzalcoatl, Aztec and Toltec God of wisdom, fertility and the wind, was a combination of the Quetzal bird and the snake and represents the sun, the spirit, the power of ascension and the elements. It also accompanies all rain and wind gods and is an intermediary between gods and men; it is unending time and is also phallic and solar. It is the White God from whose black bowels the rain falls; but it becomes lunar when the serpent depicts the Earth Mother, the Snake Woman, Coathcue. She wears a skirt of woven snakes and was the mother of the War God, Huitzilopochth, who is portrayed as encircled by snakes and as having a great drum of serpent skins and a sceptre of snakes. The Feathered Serpent also signifies the Evening Star which dies but is born again as the Morning Star. The snake can be a mythical ancestor or culture hero. The Serpent God can be depicted as held in the grip of a bird of prey; from the serpent's blood humanity was born, symbolizing the dismemberment of original unity and the coming of multiplicity in the world. The serpent grasping its own tail is the 'great century', the cyclic.
In North Amerindian tradition snakes are ambivalent: they can be both intermediaries between men and gods, also harbingers of death and symbols of eternity. They are associated with thunder and lightning and are rain-bearers. The homed serpent fives in the sky and is at enmity with the Thunder Bird; it is also a water spirit, the fertilizing power of the waters. Among the Creek Indians it is invoked in hunting and unites the hunter and the hunted. The serpent with horns is also the Great Manitou which transfixes the evil Toad or Dark Manitou. There is also a Celestial Snake, with a head but no body, which lives on dew; it combines the powers of nature. The Homed and Feathered Serpent of the South-west Tribes is a powerful water deity, controlling floods and earthquakes. The double-headed serpent of the Kwakiutl has the same significance but also controls all liquids, such as blood and tears. For the Southeast Woodlands the Rattle Snake is the head of the vermin category of animals. The Hopi associate the serpent with the moon, as it sheds its shadow to be reborn. The Snake Dance shows affinities with the Hindu Kundalini, having a serpent energy coiled in the lower pelvic region. It is roused by the marriage of the Serpent Maiden to the Antelope Youth. The snake is the power of the waters and the generative organs.
Many African tribes regard the snake as immortal and some have sacred serpents, especially the python, which must not be killed; they can also be associated with the living dead. In an African myth the snake stole the skins which God had provided for the people, so the snake can renew its life by shedding its old skin, whereas man dies. This accounts for the enmity between Man and Snake. In Zulu lore the snake can be an ancestor returned to the family and should be addressed as such; it is also believed that souls of the dead can enter serpents. Many tribes of East Africa revere the snake as either an ancestor or as a soul-animal. It is of good omen.
In Heraldry the snake is most frequently represented nowed - that is, in a knot - sometimes erect, and occasionally gliding or glissant. Alternatively it can be depicted as the Ouroboros, with its tail in its mouth. As associated with medicine it occurs frequently in grants and arms made to physicians, usually appearing as a rod of Aesculapius.

Serra
According to the Bestiaries the Serra is a winged creature which tries to out-fly ships but gets bored with being out of the water and so dives back. It symbolizes 'people who start off trying to devote themselves to good works but afterwards get vanquished by nasty habits, and, undependable as the to-fro waves of the sea, they dive down to Hell.'

Shark
Revered in Polynesia, the shark represents the Milky Way as the 'Long-blue-cloud-eater', and is one of the creatures embodying sacred beings and powers, as are the Octopus, Lizard or Turtle, all of which can be regarded as individual incarnations of important people such as chiefs. In the Solomon Islands the shark is sacred and addressed as 'grandfather'. Hawaii's shark gods were worshipped and were believed to be ancestral spirits appearing m shark form. Sharks could also be sorcerers' familiars, h6fping them in time of need. The gods could change into either human or shark form. The shark is also held sacred in some West African cults. If accidentally killed, rites of propitiation must be performed for three the flesh may not be eaten before this rite of atonement.

Sphinx or Sphynx
There are both male and female sphinxes. The Egyptian sphinx is male, while the Babylonian sphinx, representing Astarte, is female, as is the Greek form. Sphinxes with the bodies of lions and human heads were carved on Hittite rocks under Egyptian influence; one was depicted with a double-eagle carved on its side.
The Egyptian sphinx symbolized royalty, wisdom, physical power and the pharaohs; it also signified the enigmatic. It was associated with Osirus, Amon, Neph (the Greek god Jupiter) and Phreh (Helios) and was depicted as a man-sphinx, ram-sphinx or hawk-sphinx according to the deity worshipped. It has been suggested that the sphinx symbolized the Nile floods when the sun was in L4eo and Virgo, but the Egyptian sphinx was always male. It is also suggested as symbolizing theological mystery, appearing as it does in association with temples.
The female sphinx can be a combination of virgin, lion, dog, bird and serpent. The Greek version had the head and bust of a woman and had wings, unlike the Egyptian sphinx. The Greek sphinx was a monster sent by Hera/Juno to devastate Thebes; it put the 'riddle of the sphinx' to passersby. Oedipus answered it and so rid the country of the monster.
Both male and female sphinxes appear in the Mayan ruins of Yucatan.

Sprites
A sprite is a kind of fairy or elf. Sprite comes from the Latin word spiritus or spirit and once meant “soul” or “ghost.” Sprites are used in many folktales. Sprites are creatures of the element water. They are found only in places where it is serene and cool. They like to play with nymphs or torment butterflies. (The butterflies don’t really mind.) Sprites have one very important job, which is going around and changing the colors of a tree’s leaves in Autumn. They have many cans of bright paint in every shade between red and yellow. This makes sure they don’t run out. Sprites are very creative. They are muses, artists, and poets. They are some of the most creative fairies. Some even decide to bond or marry a human or elf and stay with them their whole lives.

Sprites are shy and reclusive fairie people, related to other fairie-folk, like brownies and leprechauns. There are several varieties, including pixies and nixies. Most have small, semitransparent wings, and elven features. Normal sprites have distincly elven features and live in meadows and wooded glens. The wingless sea sprites make their homes on colorful coral reefs, living in harmony with the sea creatures. protecting the reefs' delicate environment, and frolicking in the waves. The naturally invisible pixies are perhaps the most intelligent and mischevious of the fairies; they dwell in idyllic woodlands and delight in harassing travelers with their pranks. Nixies are water sprites that live in freshwater lakes, and, while they harbor no grudges against humankind, they delight in enslaveing men as their beasts of burden. Other sylvan creatures related to sprites include the swift atomies and the mischevious grigs, both forest dwellers.

Sylphs
“Sylph” comes from the Greek word silphe meaning a butterfly or moth. They were first named by the Rosicrucians and Cabalists in their folklore. The sylph is a female spirit of the element of air. These were like invisible angels whose voice could be heard in the wind. Sylphs defend the high mountain peaks and wilderness mountains that are home to them. Sylphs look like tall, lithe humans with huge, feathered wings sprouting from their backs. These wings are almost two times it’s body length, but they fold up behind the sylph. They have large, hawk-like eyes and sharp, angular faces. A sylph can live to be hundreds of years old, often reaching one thousand, but never seeming to grow old. The smaller sylph are sometimes called cherubs or fairies. Sylphs are loners, and are content to fly with the birds.

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