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Name: The Slogah / SlogallahType of Mount: Land / Water
Mount Speed: Slower than a horse by land, faster than a horse by water.
Rarity: Rare, except in the far western continent, by Melrath, and curling down around the outskirts of The Fields of Gauthrel, where they are common.
Typical Size: The Slogah stands at a good 6' or more at the shoulders while on four feet; the Slogallah perhaps 1/2' less.
Diet: Berries and thick leaves when available, or wetland type foliage. They thrive on "Bloat Grass", a feature of the western plains, but they are not averse to eating twigs and roots as well.
Trainable: Yes, they possess a calm demeanor that allows them to be trained easily. But they love to dive in water and a special bridle has been devised that keeps their nostrils open to dissuade them from this. One of the best ways a trainer can show praise is to allow the beasts some dive time as a reward for good behavior.
Pack Mount: The Slogah is the pure pack mount, easily toting a good 1/2 ton, or pulling double that in a wagon. With just a rider and light load, it can maintain a 25mph speed for as long as a horse can gallop. The smaller, rider-oriented Slogallah tops out at a little over 1/4 ton of pack capacity, and can maintain unpacked speeds of 35mph.
Locations: They are still most frequently encountered on the far western peninsula of the western continent. But Uthaldrian breeding programs have brought them to be available all across the northern half of the western continent. It is not believed that any have yet appeared on the eastern continent.
Appearance: The Slogah is like a somewhat thinner and taller bear with a thick, furry tail and paws that could almost be called "webbed", which account for their good swimming speed. They tend to light brown fur, but can shade in highlights of black or red, which sometimes make them look striped.
Habitat: One may be sitting, fishing, beside a river in a deep, deciduous forest and suddenly have a slogah rise from the water with a mouthful of water plants. This could be at any time of the arc, but only in areas where it does not get too hot during Saun. Their thick hide and fatty layers making them largely immune to the cold of Zi'da and Cylus. They range out onto plains as well to feast on Bloat Grass, but they prefer not to be so exposed.
Lifespan and Development: A mating produces only a single cub, every other arc, with both conception and birth occurring during Ashan. For its first three arcs, the parents attend it closely. Then it moves on to become a part of the pack, its parents having no greater impact on its upbringing than any other pack member. The parents also move on from each other then, becoming available to other adult Slogah for mating purposes. The average life span of the slogah is thirty to forty arcs, its fertility encompassing all but its first and last five years.
Uses: The Slogah is an exceptional pack animal, and the Slogallah is a serviceable mount for day-to-day riding, though their loping gait has led to the development of a spring-mounted and heavily padded saddle, as well as sled-like wagons with light flotation bags to accommodate crossing rivers and lakes. They are too sluggish to be of much use in warmer zones of Idalos, but it has been found that their sweat has a unique component, that can be processed to create an oil that completely masks a human's scent. This is a greatly prized asset for hunters, and there is a stockade maintained, south of the Fields of Gauthrel, where the plains become a desert that borders the sea, where these gentle giants are kept hydrated and ridden to a sweat daily. In a pinch, the meat is edible, if a bit grainy and oily tasting. The hide, on the other hand, cures easily and keeps a wearer quite warm in cold climes, for those more concerned about function than fashion.
Abilities/Tricks: Their ability to stand on their hind legs can make the stout claws on their feet into a surprisingly formidable weapon. Their thick hide and fatty layer gives good protection against attacks, which only seem to provoke the creature to greater and greater ferocity. This can, unfortunately, bring the brute to forget it has a rider. But the Slogah is a loyal animal, and even if it should dislodge its rider in a rage, it will quickly recall its masters' scent and calm down, or even take a protective demeanor.
Information: Discovered a few hundred years ago in the forests north of the Fields of Gauthrel by an expedition of herbalists from Melrath, the Slogah have become a fairly common mount and pack animal for those traveling in temperate to cold regions. The Melrathians, surprised by the sudden appearance of the large beasts, fell immediately into a defensive panic, expecting the large brutes to attack.
As it happened, the humans had seen the Slogah feeding on berries that were now only remaining at the top of the shrubs, so they were standing on their hind legs. The beasts ignored the humans up until the point that their cries of alarm became annoying to them. At this point they dropped to all fours and moved off, avoiding further contact.
Intrigued by their unexpected passivity, the humans sent word of this new species to the animal trainers of Uthaldria. Techniques in animal training and breeding was almost an art for the people of Uthaldria and they welcomed the furry giants into their menagerie. At first, they were only recognized as a pack animal. But the Uthaldrians soon bred a thinner, quicker hybrid, the Slogallah, as a riding animal.
Credit: Maltruism