Crithta Fox

The Crithta fox is a medium sized feline which wanders mostly around vulcanic areas and jungles. They are around 26 inches in height from the shoulders and their body length is around 40 inches without tail, which is longer than half their body length. They are very agile, being capable of jumping over 2 meters high. Their normal fur is dense, soft, silky and relatively long. The most common color if the fox is an orange hue, but other small variations on this color can also be seen.

The Crithta fox is capable of setting one or multiple parts of its body on fire. Their eyes do not have pupils but instead look like they are on fire on the inside, showing an orange glow. Their fur is immune to this kind of heat and the foxes are even known to be able to withstand the temperature of lava. The foxes can swim in water, however, they need to ‘deactivate’ their fire in order to do so or else the foxes can be seriously hurt by the water. Because the foxes can stop their fires from burning, they sometimes look like regular foxes on first sight, the only difference would be their eyes.

These foxes absolutely do not like snow and they will do everything to stay away from it and thus the north as well.

The teeth of the Crithta fox are extremely pointy and very sharp, this makes up for the fact that their claws are not very sharp.

The foxes are often seen near volcanic areas and sometimes they can be seen bathing in the lava streams, they do not do this for long though. The Crithta fox will usually immediately activate its fire when they feel threatened by other creatures. This way, most animals get scared of the fire and can’t touch the fox anymore, the fires are extremely hot and will cause serious burns so most animals will stay out of the foxes’ way.

Distribution

Crithta foxes are sometimes nomadic though they do not travel that often, in the wild they stay in one place for max a month. They enjoy jungles but when they activate their fires there, they may cause various forest fires so they tend to stay in open places as well where they can use their fires as they please. The kits of the foxes in the wild are bathed in lava when they are born, not all of the kits will survive this but most will, this leaves the stronger foxes in the nest. The foxes are quite capable of protecting themselves and can mate easily, they are considered common.

Habitat

The Crithta fox usually resides around volcanic or warmer areas like deserts. Though in some cases they can be found at the edges of the midlands where warmer areas end. The foxes aren’t very territorial and they can often be seen together. They are slightly nomadic in nature.

Diet

The Crithta’s diet is very varied, they mostly eat small animals but can eat animals almost as big as themselves as well. The foxes can also eat fish and fruits but they prefer to eat meat. They often first heat the meat or fish with their flames and then eat it, they are quite picky when it comes to raw food.

Relation

The foxes are often seen with a group, they mate together and raise their kits together. It is not uncommon to see one alone though. The foxes can’t burn each other with their flames as their hide is resistant to the heat. The foxes are shy around people but are usually peaceful when not provoked, this is why the foxes can be tamed. This is best done when they are trained at a young age to teach them to not burn you. It takes time and trust to tame a Crithta fox.

Mechanics

• Shy
• Can set themselves on fire
• Very agile
• Can be trained

Material Properties

• Their hide is strong and warm, it is useful when making armor or clothing as the hide is fire and mostly heat resistant.
• Their meat is edible but not special.
• When the eyes of the fox are dried and crushed into dust it can be mixed with food, the effect is a spicy meal.
• Their small teeth can be used to make beautiful jewelry.

Alchemical Properties

• When the pelt is bathed in water and then distilled, an oil-like liquid is gained from the pelt. This oil is highly flammable and can be set on fire for extremely long times before vanishing.
• The eyes of the fox can be made into a quite hard liquid which you can use to make a candle or anything like that, when ignited the candle produces a brighter light than a usual candle and can last longer.

The World of Aethius • The Multiverse of Aethier