Witchcraft and Wizardry Textbook

Creatures: Discovering the Fantastical Creatures in the Magical World

First of all, there are the common creatures, and I don't need to tell you about those. I'm sure you're educated about the pigs, sheep, cows, horses, and chickens that mill about, every day. But there are also the Partials: things like Centaurs, Satyrs, and Chimeras - these creatures have an abundance of traits from different animals. The Centaur has the upper body of a man, but the body of a horse. The Satyr has the upper body of a man, but legs of a goat. These things range in properties. I wouldn't call Partials common, but compared to the Shifts and Wholes, Partials are pretty much a piece of cake to locate.
        Shifts are basically anything that can change from one thing to another. Chameleons and octopi are probably the offspring of a Common and a Shift, because they can change colors but not much else. Spirits and Ghosts are examples of Shifts - they can take the form of different objects. Shifts are very rare to find because of their ability to hide from us so easily. Vampires and Werewolves are more great examples of Shifts.
        Then, there are Wholes. Wholes are just any creature that's not a Common, Shift, or Partial - they're not common, they can't change their form, and they are all one beast without parts of anything else. I'd categorize Wholes into three groups - Tranquil, Aggressive, and Rare. A Whole can be in more than one group - a Unicorn is Rare, and also Tranquil. A Phoenix is Aggressive, but not necessarily Rare. Phoenixes live in volcanoes, and no one's ever explored deep down in one, have they? Also Wholes are Dwarves, Tranquil; and Dragons, Aggressive and Rare.

KEY POINTS

-Common creatures: Everyday animals
-Partial creatures: Parts of different animals
-Shift creatures: Shapeshifters
-Whole creatures: Tranquil, Aggressive, Rare