Fear angels, Skotognathus pterus [meaning “dark-jawed wing”] or L'grakes to dragons, are giant stickman-sized anurognathids that are found all around Cenara and even in some places in the Unsung. They originate from the Dead Forest, but unlike most creatures that live there, fear angels are a docile species who are extremely helpful to any environments they find themselves in. While not considered domesticated at all, they do coexist with many cultures, living symbiotically with the people inside settlements.
They are some of the few wild animals that enjoy being around stickmen, and their desire to be near settlements started legends in the past of them devouring those who feared them, earning them their names. Fear angels nowadays are seen as a friend to small children, especially when they gather in groups to collect in villages full of children.
These pterosaurs feed solely on dark energy, especially fear, which removes dark waste buildup in the environment. Because of it removing waste from the environment, anyone who is visited by a fear angel will wake up refreshed and feeling safe and peaceful. Their docility means they will allow small children and animals to touch them, leading to the discovery that the white and black pycnofibres covering their bodies are soft and extremely dense. They are said to have a calming effect on people even in the waking world.
As a fear angel feeds on dark energy, its pycnofibres will gradually turn from snowy white to dark black, signifying approach of sexual maturity. Sexual maturity is reached when their integument is completely black, usually about 150 years into their lifespan, and is also when they will stop eating and instead begin absorbing energy from residual mana and sunlight.
Fear angels typically only live long enough to reproduce and raise their chicks for about ten years, after which they will perish from natural causes. Chicks are born fully white and capable of flight in groups of six, and only around two out of each litter will live long enough to reach sexual maturity. They will reach their full size within ten years, after which they will feed from the residual dark energy remaining of their deceased mother and fend for themselves.