Explore a land of fated heroes, abyssal beasts, & little girls bearing the weight of the world
Ecology of the South
The Southern Continent is a vast space with various biomes, not dissimilar to the Mediterranean of our world. But unlike the North, they get the light they need to support them.
Flora & Fauna of the South
Eleftegos (Ivory Beasts)
Thick, gray-skinned beasts with white ivory shells which grow from their backs. They live in small herds of 10-20 units. They're generally seen as large, slow creatures but they're very patient, smart, and have long memories.
Eats: Omnivorous--Small Water-based plants, small insects, Basically filter feeds but in swamps
Eaten by: Dagaeus in packs (especially while small), Daedons
People Uses: As mounts, beasts of burden, and as a source of Ivory
Dagaeus
Small, sleek canid beasts with tiny feet. They form packs of 7-14 members. They are often wary of humans but not actively aggressive - and there are some stories of them finding children lost in the swamps and returning them home. There is large regional variation between the Dagaeus: The ones on the Southern Coast have big ears (for improved hearing and to keep off the heat) and thin tails as well as having more splotchy colors. Elsewhere, they have different coloration patterns, smaller or even no ears, bigger tails, and sometimes manes.
Eats: Eleftegos, broad-eared rabbits, meu'otes, Swamp floaters
Eaten by: Daedons sometimes
People Uses: Occasionally as pets, herders, or hunting companions
Meuu & Meuification
Goats came to Telethens during an ice age and outcompeted the local rabbits for their niche. But the rabbits were so well-adapted that the goats became more like rabbits.
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This process has been witnessed world wide, of creatures evolving to be more like rabbits. It is called "Meuification".
Meu'otes
Named after the goats to which they look alike.
Bearded Vultures
Bearded vultures are highly specialized vultures that feed on bone marrow, typically ignoring the flesh on a carcass and leaving it to smaller scavenging birds. This is called niche partitioning: when animals that perform similar roles specialize further to avoid competition. They are capable of breaking or outright digesting lamb’s bones with their beak and highly acidic stomach respectively, as well as being known to drop larger bones from high altitudes to shatter them into manageable pieces on rocks below. Like all vultures, they aren’t hunting birds, and so they tend to be more sociable with humans. Many are downright friendly; I’ve heard bird conservationists and educators here in Colorado frequently refer to vultures as their favorite animals to work with.
I originally designed a giant vulture that closely resembled the now extinct Teratornis, but I imagine the lack of extant megafaunal animals on Belle’s world, much like on Earth at the end of human’s rise to prominence, would spell an end to any giant vultures I imagined. This left me with the bearded vulture, one of my favorite birds, as the logical successor.