Fauna of the Prosperitas Sector
There are breeds of creature common across the entire Imperium, and many of them can be found in the Prosperitas Sector having been brought here by human colonists. The relationship between mankind and beasts has been a long history of animal husbandry and domestication that continued as they took to the stars. Most of the animals once-present upon Terra are now extinct in the forms native to the cradle of humanity, though some descendants of these species, survive having been brought to the stars by humankind. This can cause issues. Species with minimal deviation from the sacred forms of Terran animals are precious and valuable things, and in the Prosperitas Sector, a recent increase in people being scammed with local felinids being sold as alleged survivors of Terran species has forced an increased crackdown on beast-traders.
The ancestors of native Ruwwad and Annwfyn peoples that first colonised the sector brought with them several domestic animals – none are as numerous as the Felinids, which remain popular pets, though many have interbred with the sectors native felinid, the Gyrinx. The Gyrinx is not unique to the Prosperitas Sector – these felinids are prized across the galaxy as companions as they are legendarily intelligent, forming strong bonds with their owners. They are perfect companions to the psyker, reinforce their strange mental abilities. The interbreeding between these strange felines and domestic felines brought by settlers has somewhat diminished what could have been an incredibly valuable commodity for the sector. Collectors excitedly coming tin search are often disappointed not to find the characteristic vibrant fur tones or the infamously long tapered ears of the pure-bred Gyrinx present amongst those few gyrinxes born to felinid populations in the sector. It is said that all domestic felines in the sector carry a bit of gyrinx blood, which makes them that much smarter and cannier than their ancestors. Most felinids are found as domestic pets – there are few true gyrinxes in captivity. Battlefleet Prosperitas has a strong tradition of using felinids as ‘ratters’, working animals charged with keeping voidships clean of all manner of vermin, a task that often requires extensive cybernetic augmentation. Wild populations of both Gyrinxes and lesser felinids exist on many planets, especially the forested worlds of Subsector Secundus and Primus.
Canids are another domestic animal brought into the sector with the original settlers. In much of the Imperium it is common to see artificial cybernetic/robotic constructs fulfilling the working roles canids had once on Terra – guarding Imperial bases, hunting criminals, and sniffing for threat. However, in the Prosperitas Sector, the fondness of the Annwfyn and Ruwwad settlers for canids has provided the Imperium with a variety of these noble beasts. They are often found in military service in the Imperial Guard and Planetary Defence Forces, as well as in law enforcement supporting Arbites and local forces, amongst a myriad of other working uses. The average Prosperan canid has proven a strong candidate for cybernetic augmentation, hardy enough to endure most surgeries – Prosperitas-made cybermastiffs are most usually cyborgs of varying degrees of augmentation.
In most areas of the Imperium, including Prosperitas, the lizard-like Grox is a primary herd animal. The beast is possessed of the unique (and somewhat unfortunate for it) trait of its entire body being almost entirely edible. Perhaps aware of its ultimate fate as food, grox are infamously foul tempered in their nature. Hence, they are heavily farmed but almost universally hated by those that farm them – it is not a creature that engenders much sympathy with those involved in rearing it, which is perhaps why it is so easy for them to send it to the slaughter in such numbers.
Amongst the teeming life of the Prosperitas Sector, Saurids represent a common group of reptile species found across the Sector. These primitive creatures come in all shapes and sizes, with many such creatures such as the, misnamed, ‘Butonian Scythe-Lizard’ being found on the surface of agri-worlds like Butonia across the sector, most are of minimal concern, but the megafauna of Caracas make for popular attractions in the Sector’s fighting pits.
The forests of Helaerus III are teeming with life-forms. It is said that everything within the forest preys upon something, and given the abundance of hostile plant life that seems likely to be true. In the forested highlands, and to those foolish enough to be on the outer surfaces of the spires of the Hives, the Nevermore – a massive flying predator – is a constant threat. These huge corvid-like saurids have razor-sharp beaks, easily large enough to cleave a human in half with a single bite. Amongst the forest floor the bone-armoured Beowulf, a saurian creature with a wolf-like shape, makes use of dark fur-like light-absording feathers in order to stalk its prey. And, in the immense treetops of the ironwood trees, whole colonies of giant Lancer Wasps will aggressively defend their homes easily from attacking loggers. To make matters worse, Helaerus is just one of the many worlds in the sector one can encounter breeding populations of Clawed Fiends…
The Clawed Fiend is not a native species to the Prosperitas Sector. They were first encountered by the Imperium in the distant Donorian sector – how this species made the transition to the forests of the Prosperitas Sector is unknown. The physiognomy of the Prosperan breed of Fiend is notably distinct. It has tawny/brown fur and a blue skin tone, as opposed to the red skin and blue fur of more well-known breeds. This alien beast is an amalgamation of the most predatory aspects of nature. Its size is tremendous, and it can move its bulk of muscle and claw at almost preternatural speeds. The arms are long and muscular, giving it a tremendous reach. It also sports a long corded tail of bone and sinew, ending with a deadly spike of bone. Each of its claws are larger than an Ork’s forearm, and cruelly shaped – combined with the creature’s strength these can cut like monoblades. To make matters worse, the creature’s multiple eyes and specially adapted ears allow it to see in several spectrums and pick up the slightest sounds, no matter the background noise. Any hunter learns quickly that the only way to kill a clawed fiend is fast. Through some chemical reaction when injured or, some say, the scent of its own blood, wounding one of these creatures causes it to go into a berzerk state. A Fiend never flees, and when driven into this hyper-aware state it has been known to tar through entire bulkheads with its immense strength.
The Manchot is a flightless aquatic bird uniquely found on the fortress world of Kelper Prime. It is the only inhabitant of the fortress world that has actively benefited from the conflicts there, for it is just light enough not to trigger a standard landmine detonation plate, meaning it is a thriving species despite the fighting as it can survive within the impassable dense minefields. Squat and rotund, it is a pale-coloured bird with blued colouring. When slaughtered, it provides fatty meat that is prized by the locals of the planet as a food source.
Stoorworm are a species of aggressive amphibian xenofauna, found across the Sector. Usually green in colour and bipedal, they possess a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth and long gangly claws. The species is non-sentient and territorial, often defending nesting sites. They also have an ability to survive in urban environments – whole populations of them have been discovered lurking in the sump of several Hives in the Sector. The species is a threat when it begins hunting humans, but it is mostly a danger because its simple bestial mind make it a favoured weapon of witches trying to defend themselves, using their strange powers to control these creatures.
Commonly sighted in hive cities, Argentum coleoptera – known colloquially as the Silver Death – is a small chrome-shelled beetle of unknown origin. In swarms, they have been known to overwhelm and strip a citizen’s flesh in seconds. They tend to live in subterranean environments and are generally a minor threat given their limited territory.
Capaegri, or Capaegrus variatus are an invasive hexapedal mammalian species, found across many agri-world of the Prosperitas Sector. The size of a small canid, an individual capaegrus possesses blunt teeth and vestigial horns that pose little threat to humans. However, they possess extremely opportunistic scavenging instincts, an incredible hardiness against environmental toxins, and a strong tendency to overwhelm local ecosystems. These qualities render them a perennial annoyance to agriworlders across the sector, especially given their tendency to chew on blessed machinery and power cabling. A number of Magoi-Biologis – relegated to the unglamorous but essential duty of sector pest management – have attempted to employ capaegri in land reclamation following Archenemy occupation. Limited genetic re-sequencing has rendered them capable of destructive grazing on all common strains of bloodgrass (Trifolium infernum) without mutating, though such geno-alchemy remains controversial, as does the risk of a ‘furry goo’ situation wherein uncontrolled capaegri convert vegetable biomass into more capaegri at an exponential rate.
Phoca loquens is a semi-humanoid species of aquatic pinniped endemic to Lerwick. Approximately 1.7m long, their hides are a mixture of scales, fur, and shell unique to each recovered sample. P. loquens possesses claws and a mouth ringed by sharp chelicerae; while superficially intimidating, these are typically only employed for hunting small fish and other marine life, the sole food source of the species – no predatory attacks on humans have been observed, although care is recommended when approaching them during fishing expeditions. References to P. loquens as ‘selkies’ are deprecated – while local superstitions regarding their sapience, undersea civilisations, and tendency to murder Guard stationed in littoral postings are regrettably common, Biologis investigation has revealed them to be non-sapient animals with a significant but not unusual aptitude for mimicry, rather than an abhuman or beastman strain. Trade in pelts of Phoca loquens is not illegal but is heavily controlled, following the mass culling of the Lerwick population and the failure of attempts to rear them off-planet.