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Fingered/Pawed Animals with SkinYrmbaroKnown as the tallest mammal, the yrmbaro is a colossal herbivore native to the deserts of South Ideitess. The Karithians have trained them to carry goods across the desert for hundreds of years. Characteristics: At the shoulder, an adult male reaches around 3-4 meters, but if it raises its head, it can easily add another 1-2 meters to its height. The horns add another 1.5-2.5 meters again. Add this to the abiilty to stand on its hind legs, and it can tower over any other living creature. A male yrmbaro has four horns. Two from from above the eye, and grow upwards, then forwards, and then around towards the chin. The other two come from between the eye and the ear and grow upwards, then sideways, and then curl upwards again. The females have only the latter pair of horns, and on a smaller scale. Just one of these horns can weight around 150-200kg, altogether making around 10% of its total body weight of 5000-7000kg. The yrmbaro has muscular legs and a thick neck, as well as very large jaws. At the base of its jaw, it usually has callous areas resembling stone or scales. They get this from rubbing their jaw on stones. Nobody quite knows why, though. Along the top of their head, small and short spikes grow with seemingly no pattern. All yrmbaro have two root-looking growths coming from their chin. The hide of a Yrmbaro has a glistening quality because of the sand that enters its system and it reflects a large amount of sunlight. This also helps to protect them from dangerous sandstorms. They drink large amounts of water in one sitting and survive off of it for many days. On top of this, they can survive very hot weather. Behaviour and Strength: Their "growths" are used to taste plantlife along the ground, as their eyes are so small and highly-set in their skull. They eat many kinds of desert grasses, as well as larger shrubs, rocks, and sometimes sand. A battle between two grown yrmbaro males is very dangerous and can last more than a day. Usually, it involves the occassional violent ram or stomping, but attacks are given and taken with explosive force. The loser is usually whichever yrmbaro becomes exhausted first. They do not kill one another, but instead, knock one another down to show authority. Fortunately, they are only mildly aggressive for their size, and can be approached and even touched by a knowledgable human. Their two movable toes on each foot allow them to walk on sand easier and faster than one would assume. Often, at night, they will bury their feet below the sand to cool them down and through their feet they can absorb any moisture that may be under the sand.
Raxl
The raxl are a bulky and short semi-aquatic animal with thick skin. They are native to South Tasif and reside mostly in the scartin wastes, though they have been known to wander along rivers into the pitae woods. Characteristics: They are thick-limbed, large-boned, and armed with a set of bull-like horns, but are actually quite lazy. They mostly eat grass -- both underwater and on land -- and spend a lot of time on the shores of rivers and in water. They can grow up to 1-1.5 meters high at the shoulder, and can weight up to 1500kg. Behaviour: If a raxl actually feels threatened, it will make a deep rumbling noise. If it's in the water at the time, a series of waves will ripple from it. Though it takes a lot for a raxl to reach this point of anger, if the offender does not cease, the raxl will likely chase, attack, and kill whatever bothered it. They live in herds. Strength: Their thick hide, surprisingly sharp claws, and large teeth can all act as lethal defences against opponents, but this arsenal also seems to give them enough cofidence to let most other animals and even people prod at it.
Across the cold northern shores of Huirnon, most of Evealdinn, and South Riiga, there are giant creatures called terupi. Characteristics: From a distance, terupi look like seals -- particularly the walrus, due to its large tusks. However, a terupi is quite different. It does have a large and heavy body like a seal which can weigh 2000-4000kg, but it can lift this bulk with its for short powerful legs and walk. It has sturdy limbs with thick webbed fingers and toes. It also has a long and thick tail, which adds to its already impressive length and gives it an average total length of 4-6 meters. Behaviour: They eat molluscs and small fish in the ocean, and when they aren't hunting, they spend their time on beaches being social creatures in large herds. They communicate with very deep noises, so deep that most people mistake the sound for waves from a distance. Strength: The tail mostly drags on the ground, and it appears a hindrence, but in the water they can slam it against offending animals, and they have been known to split rowboats in half with a single smash of its tail. It rarely uses its tusks to defend itself, possibly for fear of breaking them; a terupi with broken tusks is often outcast and sometimes are even attacked and killed by the other members of the herd.
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