Monday, March 22, 2010

Kefferlings...

Now, some of the creatures I've created are pretty normal. Tweaked here and there, of course. I do have to give credit to my friends who helped me with this stuff. Lynn, Karen, Larry of course and lots of my LoC friends. (Legends of Cosrin) I have a whole Credits page on my website, here.

So, Kefferlings. Pronounced Kehf er ling. Sorry, I do this as phonetically as I can. Onetta (Aun's best friend) is a Kefferling. These came into being through two friends of mine, Karen and Lynn. Lynn played a Kefferling in Cosrin and Karen came up with the name. Basically, they're Elf Cats.

There was a tribe of Wood Elves that a Mahjii (Wizard in Eir du'Brusai) was battling. He cursed them all, casting a spell that turned some into cat-like creatures and turned others into dogs. While the dogs were turned all the way, the Mahjii was killed before the spell finished. Those who were turned into cats kept the majority of their Elven features. While they were still humanoid in appearance, they gained tails, fur and even feline ears and facial features. Their noses were feline as were their eyes, but their mouths were not. Some had striped fur while others had calico markings. They also gained retractable claws. They are very agile, curious like cats. They can purr and mewl when content or frightened, they growl and hiss when fighting. Kefferlings have kept their Elvish habits as far as mates and children, they can have only one child and only if they've been properly united by an Elvish Priest or Priestess.

I enjoy writing about the Kefferlings like you would not believe! Mainly because I have cats, I can watch them and incorporate their actions into my Elf cats. Very, very fun! Let's see... next will be... oh yes. The Belching Scurvy Knave. He'll be fun. Lol!

7 comments:

Debbie Barr said...

Those sound really cool! I'm pretty terrible at creating new creatures, so I generally avoid that in my writing, heh. I always admire people who can, though. :)

Unknown said...

One of our cats had kittens last summer. I got such a kick out of watching them play, and especially watching the mother cat take care of them. When they were about ready to find homes, the kittens were quite mobile, and hated to be bathed by the mother. It was just like watching a real toddler whining about not wanting to take a bath, only with angry meows. The mother cat just calmly held them down and licked away. lol.

Your elven cats sound really interesting. I read a series of books last year (the ones my dad donated!) and they had some creatures described as a cross between lemurs and cats, only human sized and with human intelligence.

Mel Chesley said...

Thanks Debbie!
And lemurs and cats, that sounds like a very interesting combination, especially with human intelligence!
Thanks for the comments, I appreciate it. :D

Michelle McLean said...

The Kefferlings sound very cool :) I am also horrible at coming up with my own creatures so I tend to stick to mythological ones that have been around awhile (though I try to pick the more obscure ones). For instance, I'm working on a shapeshifter book, but my shapeshifter shifts into an animal I've never read about before...definitely not a wolf or cat of some variety (though I LOVE werewolf and kitty stories) :D

Mel Chesley said...

Thanks Michelle, I like hearing that. :D
Mythological creatures are the best to work with. You can combine them and come up with things to help you think outside of the box.
You can also stick to the more obsolete ones and bring them back and gain a whole new interest in them with a new generation.
I'd like to read about your shapeshifter, I love things that are not the norm. :D

Unknown said...

Oh, very creative! I love how you look at your own cats and apply them to the characters.

Mel Chesley said...

I tell ya, my cats give me great material without even trying. :D