@imagnome: I have NO idea what an avrail is! Enlighten me!
My favorite mythical creature is from the story of Erysichthon and Ceres by Ovid. This dude cuts down a sacred tree so the pissed off goddess Ceres gets the spirit Hunger to climb on his back and, no matter how much he eats, he is forever starving. She's like this gnarled, emaciated, creep of a woman which is dark and weird, I know, but pretty cool at the same time. He ends up being so hungry he eats himself.