Kreons

Kreons are a fictional humanoid species that first appeared in the 1985 fantasy novel *The Shattered Empire*, written by the British author J. M. Hodgson. In the narrative they are portrayed as a semi-sentient, amphibious people inhabiting the misty marshlands of the inland kingdom of Vyth. Physically, Kreons are described as having translucent, skin that reflects light in a spectrum of pale blues and greens, a gill-like organ around the throat region, and webbed appendages that facilitate swimming. Their height is usually between two and three meters, giving them a formidable presence.

The Kreons maintain a clan‑based social structure with a council of elders who make collective decisions. Their culture is heavily centered on water, with many rituals performed in conjunction with natural water flows. They possess an oral tradition of songs that encode information about tidal patterns, local fauna, and historical events. While their language is largely incomprehensible to outsiders, scholars in the novel suggest it may incorporate a series of clicks and whistles that mimic the sounds of flowing water.

In the broader literary tradition, Kreons have been referenced in several other works of 20th‑century fantasy, often as a symbol of ecological balance and aquatic wisdom. They have not been adapted into any large‑scale media such as films or games, and thus remain largely confined to the pages of the books in which they appear. Despite this, they continue to be studied by readers interested in the interaction between mythic peoples and their environmental settings.