East

The eastern section of Ys is where the monsters live. The ogres, giants, minotaurs, evil dragons, evil faeries, legged serpents, and gargoyles all find some place to live here.

The ogres, giants, and evil dragons all live in caves of gigantic proportions, and they all live in communities of at least 10 others of their kind. Their caves are connected by a maze of passageways, completely devoid of light, and carved from solid rock. There is usually a huge central meeting area in the caves, where all the passageways meet up.

The gargoyles are statues by day, flesh by night. Altars have been set up by some prehistoric nomadic group of people who have long since moved on from Ys, leaving their altars to whatever God they worshipped behind. The altars were decorated with grotesque gargoyles. Some had long tongues that hung out of their mouths, some had wings, some had sharply taloned claws, some had horns, some had numerous eyes, and some had features indescribable. They all, though, had some sort of deranged feature that set them apart from the others, and either aided or hindered them.
As soon as the sun falls below the horizon, the cold stone of the gargoyles warms to gleaming, sweaty flesh, and the hunt begins. Those with wings take off through the air, and those without run at tremendous speeds amongst the ground. The gargoyles, in their flesh form, have poor eyesight, but their sense of smell is spectacular. The smaller of the gargoyles prey upon rodents, like mice and squirrels, but the larger ones feed on rabbits, raccoons, and sometimes even deer.
Because they live in the East, they are able to see the moment when the first ray of sun peeks over the horizon. At that instant, they teleport themselves back to their altars, where they wait through the day. If, though, they are negligent as to watching the sun, they are turned to stone upon the spot. Many a Dryad has come upon one of these statues lying on its side on the forest floor.

The minotaurs in Ys form a tight community, living in catacombs that were painstakingly carved from the earth thousands of years ago, by slaves which the minotaurs then killed and disposed of, or freed. If the slaves were freed, though, they would almost certainly die after getting lost in the catacombs. The minotaurs have lived here forever, and never come out of the catacombs during the day. At night, though, they go out for the hunt like all the other monsters living in Ys. Sometimes, a foolhardy knight gets the idea into his head that he can venture into the catacombs, slay the minotaurs, and collect the vast wealth that they have collected there. These knights never return. The minotaur community is extremely vast, and it is impossible to fight two at the same time. Also, the catacombs have a darkness spell cast upon them that is maintained by the minotaurs. The maze stays completely dark at all times, and even if someone brings a light down there, it is put out by the spell. The darkness is perfect for the minotaurs, but it leaves all others blind.

The legged serpents live in the southeast, where they inhabit the swamps and bogs there. They are perfectly suited for seeing underneath the thick water, for they have a special second eyelid that they close over their eyes while submerged. The eyelid allows them to see perfectly, and protects their eye from the dirty water. The serpents have sleek bodies, comprised of thick, hard, closely-knit scales that provide much protection for them. They are wider than most snakes, but the resemblence is still there. They can run in short bursts at tremendous speeds, and have two pairs of fangs that will inject a paralysis poison so potent that it begins work immediately. Unlike snakes, the legged serpents tear off pieces of flesh with their teeth and then swallow the pieces, instead of swallowing them whole. The acids in their stomachs then have an easier time of digesting the food, so they are able to run again in just a few hours, instead of a few days. The serpents are expert swimmers, and are able to sneak up on unsuspecting prey without even a ripple in the water. On their feet they have small, sharp claws which they use to slash at their opponents. They have the same forked tongue as the normal snake, and the same excellend sense of smell. The serpents rest in the swamps by day, and hunt by night.

The evil Faeries live all over this section of Ys, and, unlike the other monsters, they move about during the day, as well as the night. They find their houses in dead logs, bushes, and small caves. They love to play nasty tricks on travellers, like teleporting them to another part of the forest, cursing them with weakness or lost health, conjuring shadows of monsters to frighten the traveller, or causing physical harm to them by mind-throwing rocks or other things at them. The evil Fae are even tinier than the good Fae, and are of a color so that they can blend in perfectly with their surroundings. Some have green skin, others brown, and some even have mottled skin. They are the real reason why travelling throughout these woods during the day can be hazardous.

Most of the monsters in Ys, with the exception of the evil Faeries, keep themselves hidden away during the day and then hunt at night. The Dryads are very careful about moving through these woods, and they never, absolutely never venture into them at night. The dark Faeries have come to terms with the Dryads, though, for the Dryads have learned how to spot their houses. As long as they both leave each other alone, they will be happy.