Quadrihorn

              The Quadrihorn is a domestically raised bovid; and a distant relative of the cow. Quadrihorns are much bigger than cows; and produce more milk. However, only calfs are suitable for eating because the adult's meat gets very stingy. This has to do with the way the chemicals in grass react with the Quadrihorn's digestive acids. Unfortunately, since Quadrihorns are big and usually easy to manage, they are used as a common source for meat in the human army. This is reported to be the biggest cause for desertion. I have no idea how those "experts" from the capital actually proved that.  It's probable that  the "experts" studies were "guided" on a path that was beneficiary to the crown. I mean, what could it possibly have to do with the high desertion rates that many soldiers came from the area that was rebelling?
               Quadrihorns are similar to cows in many ways. They have two stomachs, eat grass and it has been proven that their belches can be lit on fire. Maybe that's how dwarves make firespitters.... However, as I have already said, they are bigger and more muscular. They have four horns, which males use to win females. Therefore, you could they're just big, four-horned cows.
               Quadrihorns were domesticated about 3,000 years ago by nomads in what is now the northern part of the Southern Kingdom. Previously, they were leaner, faster, and probably a lot smarter than the domestic version appearing more commonly about 100 years later.
               One of the greatest farms of Quadrihorns which supply the army. There are about 5,000 animals on the farm, and about 500 are sold as meat each year. The farm is located near Renara, Okista.   Approximately 100 people work there.
                                                               Length: 2 meters
                                                                Weight: 2 tons
                                                               Young: 1-2 calves per 6 months
                                                               Longevity: 20 years
                                                               Environments: steppes of Northern Ostara and Okista
                                                              Color:Dark brown
                                                             Diet: Grass
                                                            Social: large herds from 20 to 1,000 animals
               

Wolves

Since I didn't have any ideas, so I decided to post the poem that I wrote and recited in class today.
It's called wolves.
                                          The wolf sits on the lonely rock,
                                          Its amber eyes gleam like gold,
                                          As though it will soon talk,
                                          And sing of tales by men untold.
             
                                          His howl echoes through the air,

                                           Aye! For this is wolf-speak,

                                           The howl makes the air tear,

                                           A dozen wolves come out, their fur sleek.

                                          They sense the lonely elk's blood,

                                          It was wounded by a bear,

                                           The odor hits them like a flood,

                                           Their hunger is more than they can bear.

                                            They run after it, like mad hounds,

                                            The elk knows its doom has come,

                                             They leap upon it, one bites, the other pounds,

                                               Their prey cannot even run.

                                                The elk is now a mangled corpse,

                                                Its steamy entrails laying on the snow,

                                               Enact revenge will a whole infantry corps,

                                              So to all of wolf-kind, loe!

Hope you enjoyed!

                                           

The Karkan Clan 2 of 2

          Mainus barely managed to densify the air in front of the guests before the crossbow bolts would have hit them. Indeed, one bolt was just shifted from its course, and hit Hermin in the thigh:
"Aghhhh!"-he cried out, wincing and falling back in his chair. By that time, the men grabbed their weapons(how lucky the "No Weapons on Public Parties" Ban wasn't as harshly put into action back then). The room was suddenly invaded by men in black costumes with a red flaming skull embroidered on their chest-plates. They handled swords, axes and crossbows.
          The first to shed blood was Celsin. He fired a leaf-shaped arrow into a charging man who carried a sword high above his head, ready to strike. The arrow hit him in the eye, going into his brain. He died before he even hit the floor.
          The men, elves and dwarves picked up their weapons and rushed at the enemy. Birlan slashed the first man he met in combat. The man was dark-haired and had a scar on his right cheek. Birlan cut his throat open.
          It would take many words to  describe the fighting that night. How Kusmik strangled a man using  his face tentacles. How Thurk ripped out another man's throat using only his teeth. How Suptinir threw a grenade at a group of men, which ripped them to pieces.
          Now, I would bore you out of your mind if I really described ALL of that. Needless to say, if this was a movie, certainly this would be many people's favorite scene. Unfortunately, this is NOT a movie, and I wouldn't probably have the funds to make one.
           Anyway, the fighting went on for a while, but even a giant group of gangsters couldn't stop Birlan's  group. After Birlan had disarmed the last gangster who was still alive, he walked up to him(Birlan to the gangster):
         "Who sent you?"-he asked politely, as though he was talking to a messenger boy.
         "None of your business, lawman."
          Birlan kicked the gangster on the jaw with a roundhouse kick. The gangster fell to the floor, then sat up and spat out some blood.
           "All right, I'll tell you, lawman. It won't matter now. The Red Dragon sent us."
             Celsin then took out an arrow and shot the gangster in the throat. The man gurgled, spat out some blood, more came out of his mouth, and fell to the floor.
             "The Red Dragon" was one of the nicknames and aliases used by Aldreigh Theckter, Birlan's greatest enemy. I'll end this article with a short biography of his life.
             Aldreigh Theckter was born on March 3rd, 1321 NE(Nostra Era), in the small village of Rucksbury, quite near the capital of the Kingdom of Humans. Not much is known about his early life. His family were peasants, and as such worked hard in the fields. He did not really like hard work, and at the age of 12, he revolted and ran away from home with a group of friends. They ran away to the capital, where they started a small gang of kids like them. In 1337 NE they raided a local army armory. With new weapons, Theckter started showing great genius in evil. He commanded many famous robberies, among which are: "The Golden Armadillo", "The Cantenberry Heist" and "The Sorcerer's Gold", respectively. The chief of the Karkan Clan at the time, Walkh Karkan, started showing interest in this new mastermind. In 1350 NE, Walkh made Theckter his adopted son. A year later, Walkh died in "suspicious circumstances." Theckter killed most of Walkh's sons, and took control of the Flaming Heads. He now rules a giant criminal empire, and he has more chance than ever to show his genius.

The Basilisc

The Basilisc- (Felilacerta leo) is a member of the Felilacerta family.

The Felilacerta family is known for their anatomy, which is very feline-like. They have powerful jaws, strong hind legs and large shoulder blades.

 The Basilisc  has an anatomy similar to that of a lion. The Basilisc lives around volcanoes. Its scales are jagged to resemble its surroundings.Volcanoes in this world have their own ecosystem, which is made up of predators primarily, with some herbivores that feed on the small, but lush vegetation growing in the very rich volcanic soil.

The Basilisc's main enemy is the Kompa. Kompas are giant predators with long necks and sharp tails. Singularly, Basiliscs eat eggs and animals smaller than themselves. Together, though, they take down enormous prey. By "together" I mean in twos or threes. When hunting larger animals, they first chase it to make it tired, then they attack with their claws and tail to get it onto the ground, and finally, when the prey is on the ground they rip out its throat. . The frills on their heads are used to attract mates.  When in mating season, Basiliscs engage in mock battles, lashing out their frills, trying to scare the opponent.

Due to their natural resistance to heat and sharp teeth and claws,  Basiliscs have been used to kill dragons. In fact, some crime lords have made it a sport and host shows featuring battles between Basiliscs and dragons. Nowadays, a movement has stirred has been made, that seeks to end these bloody shows. This movement is, naturally, led by myself.
                                                                 Length: 3 meters
                                                                 Weight: 1 ton
                                                                 Eggs: 1-3
                                                                 Pregnancy: 10 months
                                                                 Longevity: 40- 60 years
                                                                 Environment: around volcanoes
                                                                 Color: black, gray, sometimes brown
                                                                 Diet: eggs and small animals such as lizards and birds when alone, big animals when in packs
                                                                   Social: pairs or  trios

PS: Keep tuned in for Karkan Clan Part 2 of 2!

The Karkan Clan 1 of 2

Karkan Clan or "Flaming Heads", as they are known in the criminal world, are the biggest and most dangerous of all criminal organizations.
 They are said to be one of the most corrupt clans, and, even though they are a criminal organization, they are still in the favor of the king, probably because of their rich purses. They are related to the king, and always look to eliminate the heirs, so that one of their own can seise the throne. Murder and thievery is their usual conduct, but piracy, blackmailing, and even slavery aren't rare.
The history of the emblem is not very controversial, as most scientists understand the meaning of this symbol: " Meddle with us and that's what's going to happen to you!". As you understand, that would be a very good reason for them lasting for all those years. It doesn't happen very often, but when someone REALLY annoys the Karkans, they are fed a poison which goes around their brain, and well, pretty much the whole head/body has poison, which journeys around with the blood(the difference of how fast the poison will spread depends on the race). When with contact with the sun, a chemical reaction triggers a fire...at that time I would not like to be that person(neither would you, reader). If you know that you've got the poison in you, hide under your bed and when night comes, run like crazy(which you have to be to meddle with the Karkans) to the nearest hospital or you're dead meat. If that's not an option, use my grandmother's elixir for the "flaming sickness", as she would call it:

Ye old recipe for the cure of ye flaming sickness:

Ingredients: Toad legs, dried blueberries, horse waste( ye yellow liquid), olive oil, pig fat, baby teeth, garlic, ash from a couple-day cigar, 50 cockroach eggs and dog spit

1. Pour olive oil and pig fat into a frying pan on which you fry the toad legs
2.  Pour the horse waste and dog spit into the cup, then pour in the garlic and ashes. Mix it up.
3. Grind everything else in a bowl
4. Chop up toad legs into tiny pieces and add to the gridded things
5. Add the gridded things to the liquid, and mix heavily
6. Leave for it to solidify
7. When it smells so bad it can knock you out, it's ready!

Okay, maybe grandmother didn't use the "nice-taste-and-smell" things, but it sure works!
Now, if you don't have all of those ingredients near you, you're on your own!
Returning to the history of the emblem, a few historians believe that the emblem comes from how their agents are deadly when in action(choose which one to believe).
The only authority to ever try to destroy the Karkans was Inspector Birlan(from the city of Skarsha in Le-par), who is still leading his eight men on the investigation.
I'll tell you a story of an un-succesful attempt on his life:
T'was a peaceful night, and the Lady Birlana welcomed the guests of her husband's birthday-feast with great grace. Here be a list of them(excluding the inspector and his wife):

• Hermin The Chopper-the inspector's dwarf second-in-command, Hermin is known by the nickname "chopper" because of his ability when hand-to-hand fighting with criminals, using his twin axes, cutting off their limbs at points where they won't die of nothing but blood loss.
• Thurk Redtooth-one of the last orks who have not joined the evil spirit that cursed their land, Thurk specializes in penetrating criminal organizations, due to his ability to rip out throats using his teeth.
• Arnann Welson- an excellent follower, he follows suspects back to their bases. When uncovered, he uses his knives to cut his way out.
• Suptinir Kallagul- a master of explosives, Suptinir is always ready to blow something up. He is also the brother of Hermin.
• Kusmik Irrkhikh- one of the last members of the K'ikhs race, he has the ability to manipulate the elements. He has four hands and an octopus-like head.
• Oinen Sapan- an elf, excellent at using unorthodox techniques to interrogate criminals. Not a good thing to be caught by him.
• Celsin Sux- half-brother to Oinen, Celsin is excellent at using his bow to catch criminals. He invented the hook arrowhead and the rope-catcher arrowhead. Right now he is working on many more.
• Das Arwen- one of the vampires, he usually stays at home to research. Although, when provoked, his whip and fangs taste blood.
• Rhick Daslelick- the city governor. Without him, Birlan's squad wouldn't exist. Not a fighting man, but can still use a sword.
• Mainus- representative of the Wizard Order, Mainus is set to protect Birlan at all costs. His speciality are water and air magic.

The guests all sat round a long, gold and red table. Suddenly, a servant clad in a red and golden dress ran into the room:

"M'lady! The lord is here!"

"Quick, Marx! Blow all the candles!"

The room went dark. The door opened. A tall, muscular elf(you could tell by the way he walked), slowly went into the room. Suddenly, the room grew bright and all the guests shouted:

"Happy Birthday Birlan!"

Birlan sat down next to his wife. Food was brought in. Boar, deer, birds of numerous sizes, and cow which were served in numerous different ways, different soups and bread were all on the table. It was a great feast. 
After the guests had eaten, a giant honey and fruit cake was brought in. The servants cut the cake into many pieces. The desert was served. Suddenly there was a tap on the door. One of the servants came over to answer the knock. The Lady Birlana leaned over and asked her husband:
" Did you invite anyone else, Birlan? Everyone I invited is here."
" No, I didn't. You always make the invitations."
Birlan then turned toward the servant opening the door:
" Who is it, Krin?"
The servant didn't say anything. He turned around slowly. There was a crossbow bolt sticking out of his neck. The door flew open and a volley of arrows came flying into the room.

                                         To be Continued in Karkan Clan 2 of 2!

  

Giant Kalamaru

     The Giant Kalamaru is a giant octopus. As a celaphod, its anatomy is similar to our squids, although fairly larger than the Great Squid of ours( in our world, they would be REAL Krakens). The axon(for people who are not biologists: the shell at the back of the head) serves the same purpose as in other celaphods, still innervates (controls nerves) the mantle (top part) and controls part of the jet propulsion system (like sucking in water and then suddenly releasing it for a speed boost).
     They are found in the deep seas that you must pass through to get to the Unknown Continent ( it isn't on my map because I'm still thinking about it (east of my map). The only way to get through the Deep Seas is on a submarine( too much storms on the surface).
      Now you're probably thinking how, in semi-Medieval world of mine, are there submarines?!
Answer: of course big, big Magic and some mechanical engineering.
     The submarine is controlled by a magician. I'll think about a post in which will explain what it looks like and works (leavers, ropes, fins, etc.). As you see on the picture, the Kalamaru seems to change color- in the back, its color is dark green, in the front- white.  Modern research ( done by myself) suggests that Kalamarus don't have a  stable color at all. Its predatory nature explains that. Many miles under the sea, there evolved a group of omnivorous fish called "Noctons", for their ability to see in the dark. Our friend here needed to evolve a shifting color as to not to be spotted.
     Not much is known about their mating rituals, and the mating process is quite hard to spot, but our magicians know the females have ink pouches which are hidden from view, and that the males have external sexual organs. The most interesting thing about our friends here, is that many millions of years ago, they were as smart as humans nowadays are. Then something happened. Now we have giant, rather dumb monsters.
If somebody wants to know how they eat, let them check here.

Length(plus tentacles): 100 meters
                                                             
Weight: 5,000 kilograms
                                                           
 Eggs: 35-60
                                                           
  Pregnancy: 3 months
                                                           
 Longevity: 10 years
                                                           
 Environment: Deep seas
                                                           
Color: Blending in with surrounding at will
                                                         
  Diet: Fish and nutritious plants
                                                           
 Social: Single


PS: Color by Dario T. W.

Desert Swooper

The Desert Swooper is a large dragon found primarily on flat or semi-flat planes. It has long spikes protruding from its back (which are vertebrae extended over millennia), most probably used for attracting mates(male), or keeping either warm or cool(male and female). In domesticated specimens, a hole in the middle of the back forms, where no spikes can be found. It has colorful scales on the head and neck. Its strong wings are like those of a bat. Recent research suggests that a special chemical that forms in the swooper's saliva may, when in contact with a hot gush of air(such as a long breath), rouse a fire which the dragon can control with its breath.Accidents can occur. A report says that "when I went with the dragon into me forge, I tried to heat up the forge, but when the dragon caught the rush of hot air, it burned me forge to timbers! "- said Mr. Yarkin, a blacksmith from a village near the capital of Seta. Still, I don't think it was wise to put a dragon in a forge. Swoopers usually hunt solo, meeting in herds every autumn to fight for mates. Females care for young alone. When a swooper hunts, it tries to pick out the oldest, youngest or sickest of the prey. The swooper then will swoop down(hence the name), and grab the prey with its arms and legs. Swoopers are also scavengers.
                                                                Length: 10-15 meters(gender does not matter)wings 20 meters
                                                                Weight: 2,000 kilograms
                                                                Eggs: 3-7
                                                                Pregnancy: 1 year
                                                                Longevity: 40-100 years
                                                                Environment: deserts, steppes, prairies, and other flat surfaces
                                                                Color: face and neck: a couple of colors, mostly from pale                yellow to dark green, rest of body some tone of green                                                                                                                                              
                                                                 Diet: large herbivores from sheep to rhinoceros
                                                                 Social: Single or Pair
Ps: Sorry for the delay.