Animals of the Oxalo Archipelago

## Mounts

#### Moa

giant flightless birds ridden by most beings due to being well adapted to an island life, they are nearly ten feet tall and weigh some six hundred pounds at least, meaning that they are large enough to carry a rider and some supplies, or even be hitched to carts and wagons so they don't need to be pulled by men.

they are covered in large coarse outer feathers in brown, black, grey, and white with patterns of different colours being common while some owners dye feathers more exotic colours, yellow being popular in order to help their birds stand out more from the crowd.

### Humani:

#### Epicyon:

giant wolves each larger than a horse "common" amongst the people of Anastria as the dense forests make it hard for hippogryphs or horses to navigate between villages and cities not to mention the fearsome teeth Epicyon possess.

Although it is common for entire packs to pair with a particular family or clan of Anastria, and forming a bond like that of Tevin warriors and their hippogryphs, most Epicyon fight alone and so it is rare, but not impossible for an Anastria native to earn the trust of one and so bond with them but that is not an easy trust to earn be warned.

#### Hippogryphs:

Half bird and half horse are the hippogryphs, common across the isles but humani have come the closest to mass taming them meaning most people of any means will at least know of someone who has a hippogryph as they are only slightly rarer than horses themselves amongst the populace, which has caused Hippogryph riders to be used to set up a sort of postal system across the empire. As for appearance, while most hippogryphs can be described as having the body and legs of a horse and the head of an eagle (plus wings sprouting from their shoulder blades) there are a few regional variants of note, for example the people of Tevin have a hippogryph resembling a pony and kite while on Attacks itself likely due to the high background radiant, a dove and rat hybrid hippogryphs has appeared and etched a niche out for itself.

### Elven:

#### Oberon Elks:

Part divine symbol, part pack beast, and part mount are the Oberon Elk, massive Elk with racks of antler that can stretch up to an impressive twelve feet, although only those owned by an elven lord or the centerpiece of a temple will be allowed to have antlers that long, these massive beasts are believed to be gifts from Oberon himself to serve the wood elves (although high elves, celestial elves, and night elves have all be seen to have their own breeding populations) as needed meaning that all wood elves who are likely to travel frequently or move heavy objects will own at least one.

### Dwarven:

#### Giant rats:

Originally the ancestors of these giant rats were normal sized rodents who came for the prehistoric dwarf's grain stores, however some mad man of a dwarf saw a use for them and began breeding them to be more friendly to dwarves, and perhaps more importantly, larger, and while it has taken thousands of years, the giant rats have been born, each the size of an average sized boar, they are perfect for whenever a dwarf, no matter the variant needs a ride somewhere as their natural instincts make them ideal for navigating the cramped often pitch black confines of their underground home.

## Food Animals:

### Farmed:

#### Moas

Although for the most part, Moas are beasts of burden, many of the poor will dine upon the tough stringy flesh of Moa when nothing else is available, however there are also a few types of Moa bree and kept in such a way they have delicate edible flesh.

#### Aurochs:

Large cattle native to the wilds of Valostria where penned in and wild herds of these massive animals coexist, but eating Aurochs tends to be limited to the nobility who often link their authority with their control over herds of Aurochs.

Goats:

Goats can be found all over Axelo, but they are most common on the island of Venio, where the native lizardfolk have been breeding a giant species of goat (standing at six feet tall and eight feet long) for centuries to the point it is a large staple of their diet and is the main meat they eat.