a fun fact: part of what makes elstren's wilderness difficult to travel is the existence of at least two species who are capable of tool use and are exceptionally aggressive!

one is native only to woodveil and doesn't spread far beyond--scholars call them Ommox, but they're more often called dull-eyes. they're a strange caricature of the human form that could be mistaken for human from a distance, but are just a bit too tall on average, have arms somewhat too big for a human that they will sometimes walk on, they have no eyebrows or facial hair, thin lips, and ironically tapetum lucidums (they're called dull-eyes specifically because of their frighteningly empty, soulless gaze for a human)
the ommox are distinctly not sapient--they don't make art, they don't seem self aware, endless attempts at communicating with them have completely failed, and most scholars (correctly) agree that they have no higher function than an especially smart animal--they just know how to use tools and fire

ommoxes are almost universally viciously aggressive to any sapient race--they are social animals who live together in small to medium packs usually around a single campfire with rudimentary structures, and eagerly attack any sapient races for resources. a roaming band of ommoxes can be a serious issue because any one ommox is a very durable, fast and dangerous predator that is usually at least somewhat armed and armored up, and there's always more than one!

ommoxes are uniquely suited to woodveil, which they basically dominate as apex predators--for every one marauding band of ommoxes near a town, there are hundreds in the depths of the forest, which is why travelling through uncharted parts of woodveil can be very dangerous.

the other species are the more prolific arkhea. arkhea are, in essence, a species of very smart raptors! while not individually nearly as dangerous as an ommox, they're much cleverer--they're capable of laying traps and setting up ambushes unlike the rather brutish ommoxes, including an infamous trap in which they use a very rudimentary form of alchemy to turn ichor into a dark, incredibly sticky paste that they then lay over roads and put a small layer of sediment on, resulting in carriages getting gunk stuck in their wheels and having to stop, leaving them open to surprise attacks from waiting arkhea!

not specific on what they look like yet, but i know they're similar to utahraptors with a more upright posture and stronger arms. they too are highly social animals eager to plunder the goods and tools of sapient races, but unlike ommoxes they tend to be less openly aggressive; if an ommox sees you, it will chase you until either you or it is dead, but if an arkhea sees you you can usually scare it off with some loud noise, arm waving and stomping.

the arkhea are mostly seen as dangerous nuisances; they don't kill people very often because they don't see people as prey, so if you basically let them rob you blind and take EVERYTHING, including your clothes, you might survive, but they're easily startled and lash out when startled, meaning many encounters can be lethal.

meanwhile ommoxes are seen as so horrifying that many people think they're evil spirits or some form of punishment against humanity given their resemblance. the rage on their face when they see a sapient being  and the sheer relentlessness and brutality of their hunt leads them to be mythologized heavily, whereas most everyone recognizes the arkhea as just animals.

ommoxes are uniquely hostile to all sapient races; there is a very, very commonly held misbelief (as common as like, 'blood is blue in your veins' kind of myth) that ommoxes are 'jealous' of these beings' intelligence. ommoxes will always attack or pursue sapient beings from almost any distance they spot them at, only giving up if they completely wear out or lose the target entirely. in truth, ommoxes just see these races as very valuable prey; good eating and usually packed with interesting and potentially valuable items like clothes and tools.