Codex management

Bai ZeLEGENDARY

A sage beast that knows every creature and spirit under heaven; it told the Yellow Emperor of 11,520 kinds of spirits. Guardian and guide of the platform.

Yunji Qiqian · Annals of Xuanyuan

YinglongLEGENDARY

The winged dragon that helped the Yellow Emperor defeat Chiyou and Yu the Great tame the floods; master of rain and wind.

Classic of Mountains and Seas · Great Wilderness East

QilinEPIC

The benevolent beast that treads on no living grass and appears when a sage is born; an omen of peace and fortune.

Book of Rites · Liyun

FenghuangEPIC

King of birds robed in five colours; its appearance heralds peace. With the dragon, the most august omen of China.

Classic of Mountains and Seas · South Mountains

PixiuRARE

Dragon-headed, lion-bodied fortune beast with a mouth but no vent — wealth goes in and never out.

Book of Han · Western Regions

NianCOMMON

The beast that prowls at year’s end and fears red, firelight and firecrackers — the origin of Lunar New Year customs.

Folk legend

SuanniRARE

One of the dragon’s nine sons, lion-like, fond of incense smoke and sitting still — found on censer feet.

Shengan Waiji

Nine-tailed FoxEPIC

The spirit fox of Mount Qingqiu whose cry is like an infant; later a symbol of allure and spiritual power.

Classic of Mountains and Seas · South Mountains

TaotieRARE

Goat-bodied, human-faced glutton with eyes under its arms, tiger teeth and human claws; the classic bronze-vessel motif.

Classic of Mountains and Seas · North Mountains

QiongqiRARE

Tiger-shaped with wings and a bark like a dog; one of the Four Perils, said to devour the loyal and aid the wicked.

Classic of Mountains and Seas · West Mountains

BifangCOMMON

A one-legged blue bird with red markings and a white beak; where it appears, strange fires follow.

Classic of Mountains and Seas · West Mountains

KunpengLEGENDARY

The great fish of the northern sea that becomes a vast bird whose wings hang like clouds, soaring ninety thousand li.

Zhuangzi · Free and Easy Wandering

XuanwuEPIC

Tortoise and serpent entwined, guardian of the North and one of the Four Symbols; lord of water and longevity.

Chu Ci · Far-off Journey

White TigerEPIC

Guardian of the West and one of the Four Symbols; lord of war and majesty, called the righteous beast.

Book of Rites · Quli

Yamata no OrochiLEGENDARY

The eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent spanning eight valleys, slain by Susanoo after being drunk on sake; the sword Kusanagi was found in its tail.

Kojiki

TenguRARE

Red-faced, long-nosed mountain spirit with a feather fan; a mountain god and a master of martial arts.

Konjaku Monogatarishū

KappaCOMMON

River imp with a water-filled dish on its head; strong, fond of cucumbers and polite — it weakens if the dish dries.

Folk legend

TanukiCOMMON

The shape-shifting, mischievous raccoon dog that drums its belly; also a bringer of good fortune.

Bunbuku Chagama

NueEPIC

Chimera with a monkey’s face, tanuki body, tiger limbs and snake tail; its night cries sickened the Emperor until Minamoto no Yorimasa shot it down.

Heike Monogatari

RaijūRARE

The beast that falls with the lightning, wolf- or tanuki-like; its claw marks remain on trees struck by thunder.

Hokuetsu Seppu

KamaitachiCOMMON

Three weasels riding a whirlwind: one knocks you down, one cuts, one salves — wounds that neither hurt nor bleed.

Ehon Hyaku Monogatari

RyūjinLEGENDARY

Lord of the undersea Dragon Palace who commands the tides with two jewels; the sea god visited by Urashima Tarō.

Nihon Shoki

NekomataRARE

An aged cat whose tail splits in two; it walks upright and commands the dead, and the mountain kind is fiercer still.

Tsurezuregusa

Tamamo-no-MaeEPIC

A nine-tailed fox in the guise of a peerless beauty who beguiled Emperor Toba; unmasked, she became the Killing Stone.

Otogi-zōshi

GriffinRARE

Eagle-headed, lion-bodied guardian of Scythian gold; a symbol of strength and vigilance.

Herodotus · Histories

UnicornEPIC

A white horse with a spiralling horn that only the pure may tame; its horn cures all poison.

Medieval bestiaries

PhoenixEPIC

The sacred bird that burns itself every five hundred years and rises from the ashes; emblem of immortality and renewal.

Herodotus · Histories

Western DragonLEGENDARY

Fire-breathing, winged hoarder of treasure; the ultimate trial of every knight’s tale.

Beowulf

KrakenRARE

The colossal sea monster of the northern deeps whose tentacles drag whole ships under.

Natural History of Norway

SphinxRARE

Human-faced, lion-bodied gatekeeper who poses riddles and devours those who fail.

Sophocles · Oedipus Rex

WyvernCOMMON

Two-winged, two-legged lesser dragon with a venomous tail; a fierce charge in heraldry.

European heraldry

PegasusEPIC

The winged horse born of Medusa’s blood; its hoof struck open the spring of inspiration and it became a constellation.

Hesiod · Theogony

CerberusRARE

The three-headed hound at the gates of the Underworld who lets souls in but never out.

Hesiod · Theogony

HydraEPIC

The many-headed serpent of Lerna that grows two heads for each cut off, slain by Heracles with fire.

The Twelve Labours of Heracles

FenrirLEGENDARY

Loki’s son, the monstrous wolf bound by the gods’ magic chain, fated to devour Odin at Ragnarök.

Prose Edda

BasiliskCOMMON

King of serpents whose gaze kills; only the weasel and the crow of a rooster can undo it.

Pliny · Natural History