Teratogenic, or monster-forming, energy is a type of magical energy produced as a side effect of Magnaphar thaumaturgy. It is speculated that it operates through the Dominion of Identity. Teratogenic energy produces several related but distinct effects. A child conceived naturally while one or both parents were suffering from teratogenic nightmares will be born with no irises. Although there are no other effects yet known, these madborn are often treated as different-in-kind by the rest of society, and they have a higher than average tendency to become poets, schoolteachers, and politicians.