There are creatures lurking in our world. Obscure creatures long relegated to myth and legend. They have been sighted by a lucky-or unlucky-few, some have even been photographed, but their existence remains unproven and unrecognized by the scientific community.

These creatures, long thought gone, have somehow survived; creatures from our nightmares haunting the dark places. They swim in our lakes and bays, they soar the night skies, they hunt in the woods. Some are from our past, and some from other worlds, and others that have always

been with us-watching us, fearing us, hunting us.

These are the cryptids, and Systema Paradoxa tells their tales.

***

In the dark days of Prohibition, in the wilderness just outside Harbor City, not all 'monsters' walk on two legs, and the ones that do aren't all men up to no good. Creatures that long ago retreated into the venue of folklore have crept from their dark corners of the world to harry the 'Shiners minding their illicit business in the deep woods.

A faithful few recall the legends of the snallygasters and the dwayyo, and try their luck working for the roadhouses that seek to skirt the law. But life among the crime syndicate can be harrowing.

The wise get out, those that don't, gamble their tomorrows against today…even before the Bosses get the idea to weaponize the living legends lurking in the heart of the forest in a bid to win their bootleg war.

Because when the moon shines, danger is afoot…or awing.

John French