Monsters


 * "A dappled gray horse in the Dells was a horse. A sunset orange horse was a monster."

Monsters are fantastical creatures found in the Dells. Any species of insect, bird, amphibian, reptile, or mammal can be a monster, even humans. They can be identified by their brightly colored pelts and mezmerizing beauty.

Biology
Monsters have two main attributes: their appearance and their power.

They come in fantastic, vivid shades, even species that are usually dull in color, and will always be percieved as beautiful, no matter how unkempt or injured they are. Their appearance entrances people; it can leave a person dumbstruck or bring them to tears. Monsters themselves are aware of this, and often use it to lure in prey.

They also have mental powers akin to mind control. They can sense the presence of a mind, know its thoughts and “shape”, influence it, and sometimes even outright control it. How strong a hold a monster can have depends on what type of creature it is and its target. A monster cat may have no trouble convincing mice to wander into its clutches, but will have no effect on a human monster. It’s said that Fire’s mind is impervious to the control of all other monsters, even powerful predators like raptors, so self-awareness likely factors in.

Monsters crave the flesh and blood of other monsters intensely. If they sight monster prey or smell its blood, they’ll go into a feeding frenzy and become fixated on their target, abandoning all other prey in their persuit. It's unknown if herbivore species are excluded from these cravings.

The monster gene is dominant. Any offspring of a monster is guaranteed to be a monster as well. It’s likely the only reason not all animals in the Dells are monsters is their population is kept down by hunting (both by fellow monsters and human).

Culture
From a young age, children in the Dells learn to guard their minds from the mental power of monsters. This apparently makes them more resilient to all forms of mental control, including Leck’s Grace.

Because of their beauty and stunning colors, the pelts, claws, wings, scales, and feathers of monsters are often used as fashion items, particularly in King’s City. Some can be kept as pets - many homes use monster cats to catch rats and mice, and the poacher Cutter was known to sell exotic monster horses. Monster meat is eaten, but is not sought out more than regular game.

Human Monsters
There was once a population of human monsters in the Dells, but their high death rate (usually due to attacks from monster animals or other humans) lead them to dwindle to the point of extinction. Fire is the last human monster to exist.

Human monsters do not differ too much from animals. They're just as beautiful, but only their hair and eyes have unusual coloring. They're impervious to all mental control, even from the strongest of monster predators, as well as mind-altering Graces such as Leck's.

Though not explained why, it was apparently tradition for the king’s advisor to be a monster. Cansrel came from a line of monsters who all advised for previous Dellian kings. They would be raised at court, alongside the crown prince, and assume position as his advisor when he took the throne. Cansrel broke this tradition by arranging for his daughter Fire to be raised at his countryside estate, far away from the capital.

Trivia

 * Despite being a fantasy series, monsters are one of only two fantastical elements to appear in the Graceling Realm books (the other being Graces).
 * It’s possible that the source of monsters and Graces is one and the same. Both involve physical attributes being bright, odd, unnatural colors and it’s stated in Fire that monsters were just as rabid for Leck’s flesh as they were for each other's.