Avis Roc Magna Australis Ardens

The Great Southern Fiery Roc (A. roc magna, australis ardens) is an extraordinarily rare bird found only in the Magna Desertum region of Kalimdor, and particularly in the Tanari Desert. Known only in the stories of lost travellers and wandering adventurers, australis ardens was thought a myth until shortly before the Great Cataclysm of 626KY - when a specimen was finally captured by enterprising individuals from Gadgetzan.
With an apparent average wingspan of twenty feet, australis ardens is a large and powerful species. However, its most extraordinary and precious quality is its innate association with fire. Australis ardens is not only found in one of the hottest areas of the world, but is itself perpetually aflame, with fire coursing along its wings and boiling from its mouth and nose with every breath. While the colouration of its feathers is itself a striking pattern of red and black plumage, the bulk of focus on the species has been on that fire, both in the tales of wanderers and in the recently uncovered Tol'vir stories and artworks depicting two-headed flaming birds. In particular, Tol'vir symbology seems to associate these birds with two peculiar quasi-deity figures: Rajh, Lord of the Sun, and Isiset, Mistress of Magic.
A magnificent species in great demand among the zoos and private bestiaries of the world's aristocracies and scholars, the australis ardens nonethless eludes all but the most dedicated captors. Both difficult to find despite their inability to hide and able to burn their way out of most means of capture, it requires true talent in the handling of animals to secure and transport any specimen. The eggs of the species, though a preferable option, have never been seen - prompting some speculation that the australis ardens is in some way a migrant from the Firelands. Barring proof of this speculation, it is presumed that the species belongs to the Cthoni or Titanos Dominions.
Category:Magna Desertum
Category:Animals