Beasts

Beasts
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Beasts are five legendary creatures that rule specific territories. They are able to travel between worlds (or, to be more specific, they exist in all worlds at the same time in different forms). They serve a complex function in Sihiri's placement in time.

The Beasts are much like champions, very powerful and rarely seen by the commonfolk. Each has a set territory. They don't enter each other's territories without permission. In some worlds they are approachable, in some worlds not. And the personalities of the Beasts dictate who can speak with them without being eaten.

Known Beasts
There are five known Beasts, some of which are currently dead.

Lefko
Otherwise known as the "White Ghost," Lefko rules the southwestern territories. (Phys attributes, personality)

Madalin
The Madalin manages the southeast territories. (Phys attributes, personality)

Dark Beast
The Dark Beast has been missing for a long while but there are rumours that he's returned. His territory once covered Jade and Weylin, and he was strongest in the days of Sirius, Kostya, and Hotaru. But when the countries merged and Kristine left, the Beast disappeared. He is called the Dark Beast not just because of his colour, but because of the hatred and wrath he brings in his wake.

Forest Beast
The North Woods once had a Beast. It died under strange circumstances and its soul went dormant. That's why Faerune's North Woods became so strange, losing their connexions with other worlds (the Rhodes) and most of their magic (the Enchanted Forest). Now the soul has cropped back up again. In both worlds, its owner has no idea they are the Beast. (In Faerune the soul is part of Caleb; in Sihiri its owner has amnesia.)

Tausaya and Ravoke were once part of the North Woods territory. In the absence of the North Woods Beast, tribes of humans have taken over the regions. They vow to kill any Beast that enters their realm.

Mountain Beast
There are rumours of a Beast who lives under the ground in the mountains.

Functions
Beasts act as a kind of anchor keeping all worlds aligned in time. When people talk about parallel universes, they are referring to the function of the Beasts.

In order to keep everything aligned, the Beasts sometime force actions (such as Madalin killing the Lady of War in Sihiri, so that the actions of Oxxilius would have the same consequences in all worlds). They may also provide advice that changes a person's course (such as telling Oxxilius about the Other Hood). Some Beasts are naturally more forceful than others. It is usually impossible for outside eyes to tell which actions were inevitable, which were forced, and which were influenced (and the Beasts seem unable to explain it).

Some worlds are unaware of parallel universes. The Beasts still exist in those worlds.

They are bound by a set of laws which are completely incomprehensible to humans. The laws are very old and very complex, since they have to meet the criteria of all worlds. All Beasts have a complete grasp on the laws (though some choose to forget, conveniently, from time to time). Punishments for breaking the laws are governed by another set of laws, which the Beasts also universally understand.

Appearance
The Beasts reflect the state of their territories. In times of plenty they are healthy and strong; in leaner years they appear weaker or older. If a Beast takes a wound in one world, it may show the scar in other worlds. Beasts tend to have one shape per world, but that shape can be radically different from one world to the next. For instance, in Faerune the Beasts look like chimeric animals, while in Sihiri they appear more humanoid.

Abilities
Powers differ between Beasts, but they are all incredibly strong. It's next to impossible to kill them. When writing combat, Beasts are treated like dragons. Beasts have great physical strength, speed, and/or agility in combination with their powers, which differ from Beast to Beast.

They have the ability to resurrect without help. The longer they wait before resurrecting, the less taxing it is -- instant resurrection will disable them for a day, but if they stay dead for a week before resurrecting they will revive without any negative effects. They are able to choose not to resurrect themselves (to die) or to delay their resurrection indefinitely. Killing a Beast has repercussions in all worlds. If a Beast is killed in one world, it will disappear from all worlds until it is resurrected.

Beasts can sense one another's presence, even from miles away, and are able to locate one another (though they rarely want to). They are aware of everything happening to them in every world at once. Most Beasts are not bothered by this: it's just a natural part of their nature.

It's not known whether Beasts can teleport. They've often been spotted walking or flying from place to place, but they also tend to turn up unexpectedly miles from their last location.

Origins
Most worlds have no creation myth for the Beasts. If they do, it has something to do with each beast being scattered pieces of a whole. But the Beasts' abilities are far from a complete set, and Beasts seem to die occasionally without causing the downfall of worlds. They have no great need to unite. In fact, the further they are from one another the better.