THE SLIVER CAT

The Sliver Cat is a creature of the northern pine woods, harmless enough when encountered on the ground but far more dangerous once it takes to the trees. It is a large beast, sometimes weighing as much as three hundred pounds. Its ears are tipped with tassels, and its red eyes have narrow horizontal slits that gleam in the dark. The most remarkable feature, however, is its tail, which can reach eleven feet in length. At the end of this tail is a heavy ball, one half polished smooth and the other bristling with burr-like barbs.

Like the Dingmaul, the Sliver Cat uses this ball during the mating season, drumming it against its own chest in a rhythmic display—but always with the smooth side. The barbed side serves a grimmer purpose. When hunting, the Sliver Cat crouches on a branch above a trail and waits for a victim to pass below. First it taps the unsuspecting traveler on the head with the smooth side, stunning them, then strikes with the barbed half, sinking it into flesh. With a powerful jerk, it hauls its prey up into the branches to be devoured.

The sight of a Sliver Cat crouched in the moonlight, tail arched and ball poised to strike, is said to be one of the most startling silhouettes in all the forest.