“Collected in awe. Preserved in wonder.”
The Cabinet of Natural History & Curiosities is a room of drawers, glass cases, and velvet-lined boxes—each housing specimens gathered from the furthest fields, highest peaks, deepest caves, and quietest marshes of Eyehasseen. It is a place where the natural world brushes up against folklore, and where science sometimes squints and shrugs.
This gallery blurs the line between botany and legend, taxonomy and myth, collecting the strange, the spectacular, and the sometimes suspiciously magical.
🐾 Creatures Great, Small, and Uncooperative
From taxidermied beasts to live specimens (some of which are strongly discouraged from being touched), this section reveals the fauna of Eyehasseen in all its glory.
Featured Specimens:
- The Spiral Antler of the Moon-Stag – twists clockwise, with frost patterns that shift monthly.
- Preserved Pelt of the Whispering Fox – fur emits a soft murmuring sound when warmed.
- Nest of the Orchard Lanternbird – glows faintly when placed in shadow.
- Scaled Foot of the Bog Waddler – an amphibious creature once worshipped by wetland dwellers.
- The Bell-Furred Caterpillar – rings faintly when it moves; was once used as a warning system.
🌿 Botanical Marvels and Anomalies
A rare collection of plant life both mundane and mysterious, preserved under domes, pressed in tomes, or contained within enchanted pots (with caution).
Featured Specimens:
- The Singing Ivy of Hollowcourt – vines hum when placed near other music.
- Black Petal Poppy – said to bloom only when war is near (or when lied to).
- Dewlace Fern – traps moisture in woven loops, used in noble hairstyles.
- Rootball of the Wandering Shrub – moves at night, especially when left unsupervised.
- The Three-Eyed Mandrake – rarely screeches unless bored.
🪨 Stones, Fossils, and Mineral Oddities
A trove of geological curios, including rocks that spark debate, minerals that glow, and fossils that might just be something else entirely.
Featured Specimens:
- The Laughing Stone – emits musical tones when tapped in sequence.
- Geode of Echoing Moss – interior lined with moss that mimics speech (infrequently).
- Fossilized Footprint of the Sky Ox – impossibly deep, with no second print nearby.
- Shard of Nightglass – obsidian-like substance that reflects stars even in daylight.
- Stone of Constant Warmth – temperature never drops, origin unknown.
🦷 Cabinet of Bones, Shells & Mysterious Remains
These shelves house the remnants of known (and debated) creatures. Some bones match nothing on record. Others match things that shouldn’t exist.
Featured Specimens:
- Skull of the Crooked Elk – one antler curls inward like a spiral staircase.
- Shell of the Sunset Snail – changes color depending on time of day.
- Jawbone of the Screaming Minnow – far too many teeth.
- Feather Cluster of the Transparent Jay – visible only in reflection.
- Beak of the Crimson Finch-Hound – possibly misidentified. Possibly not.
📜 Curiosities Without Classification
Some objects in the Cabinet refuse to belong anywhere. They are kept here—admired, feared, or occasionally just chuckled at.
Featured Curiosities:
- The One-Sided Coin – the reverse has never been observed.
- Clock Without Hands – ticks backwards, strikes midnight at noon.
- Enchanted Acorn of Endless Dropping – when placed on a table, falls off. Repeatedly.
- Unmelting Feather – removed from a firebird effigy, never burned.
- Glass Jar Containing a Cloud – origin unknown. Occasionally rumbles.
Whether you are a naturalist, dreamer, alchemist, or dedicated doubter, the Cabinet of Natural History & Curiosities has something to baffle and delight. Some visitors leave enlightened. Others leave suspicious. All leave changed.