[Ecosystem Lore] The Mountains

[Songwitch 1440]

 

The Mountains

 

Towering high above the plains and fields and marshes, the mountains are a mysterious place, scraping high towards the heavens and often enshrouded with mist. They are found in a plethora of locations, though almost always possess hilly and rocky crags which make it quite difficult to traverse. Its steep and gritty terrain leaves room for only the most bold of settlers and scavengers, and can be dangerous to those unheeding of the land. Its flora and fauna is usually hardy and mobile, as to traverse such steep cliffs and crevices.

 

Flora

 

Despite its rather harsh nature, the mountains are often home to a plethora of unique flora which sprout even amongst the rocky nooks and crannies. Those who manage to find such reagents are lucky indeed, for these are not all too easy to come by in what little soil lies here.

 

Paddfoot

Night Glow

Elf’s Hair Vine

Ponderlot

 

Fauna

 

Stretching high towards the heavens, the high altitudes often dissuade many creatures from taking their place among the mountainous peaks. Nevertheless, there are some rather hardy beasts which roam these stretching spires, some rather benign, and others less so.

 

 

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Snorgus

 

 

Physiology

 

A weasel sized creature, with gray fur and stone protrusions coming out from its spine and head, giving it features  resembling a tiny dragon. It also has long white whiskers the length of its body  that end in many branches like brushes. Despite its small size, it has exceptionally powerful arms and legs, being able to remove small rubble within mountains and dig into them a bit to make its burrows. Though it is only strong at this, and cannot damage any descendant. It uses its mouth and horns to fight and hunt other creatures its size.

 

It can manipulate its whiskers freely, and it uses them to brush along its burrow walls to be able to detect the stability of its home. At night it curls up into a ball to make itself appear like a rock, and its whiskers stick out to be able to detect predators.

 

Behavior

 

Snorgi (plural of Snorgus) are territorial amongst each other, using their horns and tough skulls to compete with each other for burrows and mates. They are diurnal, since their bright white whiskers stick out more at night. They are omnivorous, but hardly eat any flora since it is rare to find in the mountains, thus the majority of their diet consists of other critters and bugs.
 

Their burrows are complex mazes, both as an adaptation against predators and one to attract mates. The more winding and long the borrow, the harder it is for a predator to find the Snorgus and the more it shows off its digging skills. Though a Snorgus can never get lost in its burrow due to its sensitive nose.

 

Taming

 

A Snorgus is fairly easy to tame, it is merely a tedious process and one needs to leave little samples of food for weeks to months. Variety must be present too. Snorgi have a catty personality, thinking they are the ones graving you with their presence, but they are also affectionate, curling into little balls on one's lap.

 

Abilities

 

There is no notable ability.

 

– Snorgus are reskinned versions of cat-like pet creatures and may be used outside of combat and for DIY, player-hosted events only. 

 

Gold Goat

 

 

Physiology

 

Beautiful and majestic creatures, these goats are the close relatives of the Iron Ram. They differ however in various ways, the most striking would be their slick, and golden horns and hooves. They stand on average around 5 feet tall, however most curiously Gold Goats may grow beards and tails to the same length, making them very sought after by dwarves. 

 

The pelt of the Gold Goat is not particularly durable, however it has a silvery sheen and a soft feel making it a favourite choice among the wealthy descendants. Experienced zoologists reading this may wonder how such a flash and fanciful creature can survive the harsh environments of the mountains. The answer would be speed. A Gold Goat can traverse the rocky steps as easily as a bird can fly, and a fish can swim. Thus predators must work hard to catch them.

 

Another unique attribute to the Gold Goat is their milk. It is highly nutritious, being fatty and packed with all the nutrients needed for raising little goats in a harsh land. It also has a slightly sweet taste, making it a staple amongst mountain nomads.

 

The horns of a gold goat have the density of iron, much like their Iron Ram cousins. Only they are somewhat smaller. Although Gold Goats are named such because of the color of their horns, there is a very slim chance to spot a Gold Goat with silver horns. Though this mutation is very rare.

 

Behavior

 

The Gold Goats are very intelligent creatures with expressive faces, making them for wonderful companions. In the wild they are very skittish, if they feel the slightest disturbance, they will quickly skip away in a blur.
 

Their intelligence also manifests in complicated mating practices. These goats make all manner of sounds to compose songs to attract mates, as well as to send warnings along the mountains to other flocks by way of echo.

 

They travel in small herds of 3 to 4 goats. Due to the sparse flora of the mountains, they can be seen climbing great distances to like some salt of a rock or to chew upon some tough root. It seems no mountain, no matter how steep, can frighten them.

 

Taming

 

Adult Gold Goats are extremely difficult to tame, since one needs to be able to actually catch them in the first place. And even if by way of miracle one could outrun a Gold Goat, they would be stubborn to any taming attempts. Thus most tamers opt to raise and tame them from birth as one would a typical goat. However, they cannot be ridden upon, or used in combat due to their ingrained skittish nature.

 

Abilities

 

Gold Goats can ram into prey and gore adversaries with their deer-like antlers, but is easily overpowered by a steed or horse.

 

– Gold Gotas can only be roleplayed during DIY, player-hosted events or outside of combat as farm-like animals.

– Gold Goats can be tamed to be like a farm animal but may never be weaponized or used to defend a location.

– Any material extracted from a Gold Goat, like their gold, is comparable to its mundane counterpart. This is to say that gold will be like normal gold, and its meat will taste like any other goat’s, if not juicier. These are all player-signed.

 

Manticore

 

 

Physiology

 

A creature vile in appearance, resembling a large feline predator with grotesque wings, a serpent’s tale, a ghastly humanoid visage. The appearance of the Manticore may vary between mountains, some may have  the bodies of lions and the wings of bats, while their cousins may possess tiger-like bodies with more lizard-like wings. Fortunately to all mountain travelers, the wings of the manticore are not big enough to allow it flight, but they may use them to glide down from mountain ledges.

 

The Manticore is often similar in size to a lion, though not all subspecies possess a lion’s mane. Its strength and biting power are also roughly equivalent to that of a lion. However, one should not approach it like a simple beast, it is very intelligent and may use its prehensile snake tails to grab its prey and constrict it. Whether this is a legitimate hunting technique, or a twisted predatorial pleasure is unknown.

 

Most descendents tend to be blinded by greed, not seeing the danger around them, thus they tend to seek out to hunt the manticor for its luxurious pelts. They tend to vary greatly in appearance, but the pelt of a manticore is a very good insulator, given the fact the creature inhabits the windswept mountain tops.

 

In addition to their pelts, another adaptation of their physiology to their mountain environment is the uncanny ability to be unmoved by any wind. In furious tempest and storm, the Manticore can prowl the rocky terrain without issue, perhaps due to its powerful claws. However, it is still greatly affected by weather in flight.

 

Behavior

 

The Manticore makes its home in mountain caves, often building dens and nests of stone. It uses its prehensile tile to construct crude stone walls by simply stacking rocks upon each other. Over the ages, it has learned to use this ability to construct random structures, like mounds of rocks, upon the paths of travelers to lure them to an advantageous spot. Once its prey is there it will glide down from its lair in an attempt to kill the prey in one swooping bite. Their primary prey being Iron Rams, Gold Goats and Griffons.

They are solitary creatures, making their territory with scent glands present on their snake tail. This scent tends to smell very faintly of sulfur, thus experienced adventurers may be able to determine when they are in a manticore’s lair, that is if the wind doesn’t blow the scent away.

 

Abilities

 

The Manticore is capable of short flight while its tail carries the strength of an average descendant. 

 

– Manticores can only be roleplayed during DIY, player-hosted events.

– Manticores cannot be tamed.

– The tail of a Manticore cannot wield tools like a descendant’s hands.

– Manticores are unable to speak common tongue.

– Any material extracted from a Manticore is wholly aesthetic and player-signed.

 

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Almarisian Remnants

Minotaur

Physiology

Minotaurs are large beasts, not unlike a bull who walks on two hooved feet and has opposable thumbs. They are towering creatures, ranging anywhere from twelve to fifteen feet, with great strength rivaling, if not exceeding, that of an ology creature. Their skin is dark and leathery, having long hair that may dangle from their elbows and maw. The oldest recorded minotaur had lived upwards of five hundred years before it became sickly and died.

Habitat

Minotaurs often favor settling in ancient ruins or libraries, locations that they know will attract wandering scholars or adventurers. They may also take up residence in maze-like and elaborate caves, though seldom roam far from their chosen den.

Behavior

Minotaurs, despite their monstrous appearance, are incredibly intelligent, capable of recognizing patterns and solving puzzles with shocking proficiency. Oftentimes they will create elaborate traps throughout their dens in order to ensnare their prey, relying on the target to become lost and disoriented before attacking them outright. They do not often create their own clothes or weapons, and will rather take such from deceased travellers. Minotaurs are also prone to collecting large sums of jewelry which they wear and hoard, being incredibly vain and self-centered. Many keep mirrors in their den for the sake of vanity.

Abilities

Minotaurs have relatively poor eyesight, though make up for this via keen hearing and smell, as well as a degree of echolocation done through low bellows and groans which often signal its presence. Minotaurs are able to wield most melee weapons with great efficiency and power, making them formidable opponents when paired with their strength.

Redlines

- Minotaurs are not descendants and cannot speak common, nor learn any magic. Older minotaur can learn to write in common though struggle to speak it due to biology.

- A minotaur’s hide is no stronger than that of regular leather and can be pierced. At most, it would deflect arrows and other small projectiles.

- Minotaurs are quick, though lack agility and stealth. Their presence can often be told by the light tapping of their hooves and the occasional huff or snort.

- Minotaur, especially hungry minotaurs, cannot be reasoned with. Their craving hunger for mortal flesh is too great to be ignored.

- Minotaurs struggle to see in both extreme light and extreme darkness. They often illuminate their dens with dim (redstone) torches to see adequately.

 

Eartheater

Physiology

Eartheaters are large, terrifying creatures resembling worms with bone-like spines along their thick, leathery skin; their flesh capable of taking hits from things like arrows or pellets with little strain, though still able to be severed by a sword or bolt. These creatures often have a large mouth lined with hundreds of dagger-like teeth, capable of devouring a man whole if large enough. The average eartheater grows up to twenty feet long and seven feet wide, though larger and more monolithic sizes have been recorded.

Habitat

Eartheaters live underground in mountains, carving elaborate dens for themselves which can span miles in length. Often, the cave is held up by the thick, gel-like substance which the eartheater secretes from their skin, almost like a sort of glue.

Behavior

Eartheaters are primitive and animalistic, solely moved by their desire to sustain themselves and grow. They have no compassion or feeling and are driven by instinct alone. They will often attack prey should it sense them above ground, and will only retreat once it has sustained heavy-enough damage to be at all critical. Eartheaters keep their teeth sharp by eating away at stone and earth in their massive dens.

Abilities

Eartheaters possess echolocation, which they often employ by releasing a loud moan or roar, the telltale sign of their close approach. They can carve quickly through most forms of earth, grinding even hard stone into meal with their razor-like teeth. Nonetheless, they are blind and thus they cannot “see” anything that is not in or on the earth - meaning that flying creatures will be rendered invisible to them. In that regard, they may be easily confused by excessively loud noise, which has often been applied by hunters who encounter these beasts.

Redlines

- Eartheater hide is only as dense as thick leather and can still be wounded.

- Eartheaters are slow when above ground, though move shockingly fast underground.

- A common tell of earth eaters is a distant rumbling or low moan in the earth.

- Eartheaters cannot be used to cause excessive damage to terrain without RO consent.