#macouse

[yzegem]

Some domesticated animals of the world.

Here's the lore for the yakor camel and ogrehounds and here's it for the dragon (wich is not domesticated, I added it for scale and is probably about to destroy that whole scouting platoon)

The galloping bull is species inspired by eggysodon wich is used for milk, meat, leather and as a beast of burden.

The macouse is a large and intelligent herbivore inspired by paraceratherium and similar in behaviour to earth's asian elephant. It's used as a moving fortress and its psychological factor against troops that have never seen such a beast cannot be underestimated. On the macouse's flank there is a banner depicting an ogre. It's known that the Sun Empire feeds prisioners of war to captive ogres in colliseum-like spectacles so this image its not only horrifying but also a ghostly remider to enemy troops of their likely demise.

Out of war, tamed macouses are used for transportation as they can traverse the dense forests/jungles and flooded areas of the Helicas penninsula (core territory of the Sun Empire) during the wet season.

This great dragon resembles the average size of the species. Even though they can get way bigger than this, they are probably the most dangerous at this size, because of their speed and also because they will attack humans for food very often. An elder dragon of this size would rarely or even never fly, and only for short fights. It would probably feed on prey hunted by other carnivores (including younger dragons) and also hunting itself, since they can actually run pretty fast. Dragons are surprisingly good swimmers and some hunt as ambush predators similar to crocodiles. Dragons females are the most fertile during this late stage of life.

[yzegem]

Main mounts and pack animals of Encounters in the Frontier.

Left to right:

Yakor Camel: I already wrote most of it's lore here. Since horses don't exist in this setting, this fast camel is used. They are similar to dromedaries in behaviour and build, but more social and tame. They lack a hump, so they are not as resistant to dehydration and hunger as dromedaries are, but are still more so than horses. There exists many breeds of this species, here I drew two of them:

-Plateau yakor: This strong and sturdy breed is native to the northwestern plateau and a very important part of the identity of its inhabitants. The peoples of the plateau use this breed as a means of transportation, war mount, pack animal and as draft animals. They use their characteristic mane to create felt fabrics, perfect for insulation in the winter. This breed grows and sheds its mane seasonally. During the conquest of the plateau by the Sun Empire, this animal is also used in other regions.

-Yakor pony: This breed is mostly used by the steppe nomads of the setting, alongside other larger builds. This animals are not meant to carry a lot of weight, so they are used by mounted archers, skirmishers and for hunting. Their low center of gravity and sturdy legs makes them very maneuverable and fast. This is also the breed used for dragon hunting. This breed has not been as succesful in other regions of the continent where heavier camelry is prefered.

-Syzer: This animal is closely related to the yakor camel and inhabits in the savannah like environment of the southeast. They live in small packs and are sometimes hunted by humans (wich is a hard task since they are known for being quite agressive). They have been many attempts to domesticate this mighty creature, all without success (similar to irl zebras). Still, its posible to breed it with a yakor camel to obtain a Camule.

-Donpir: Closely related to the undomesticated forest tapir, this animal evolved to live plains and convergently evolved with irl horses in many ways, such as only using their central hoof for support. They retain their juvenile stripes in adulthood, but not as camuflage but as a way to blend with each other in large groups, such as zebras do. These animals are not often used as mounts, but as pack animals, since they are strong, obedient and efective on uneven terrain.

-Bakyor: This chalicothere is the largest domesticated animal in the setting (the macouse is not domesticated but tamed). They are used by merchants in land trade routes. They don't have as much stamina as a irl camel but are much stronger and very good at traversing very uneven terrain, as with their unusual hooves they can even climb.

-Camule: The hybrid between a yakor camel (usually a large breed) and a wild syzer. These animals show hybrid vigor, and are larger and stronger than both of its parents. They merge the ideal characteristics of both species and are large and strong like a syzer and hardworking and tame like a yakor. They are unfertile and the contions needed for a wild syzer male to breed with a yakor mare are hard to replicate. They are mainly produced in the southernmost región of the Sun Empire and are often gifted between rulers in diplomatic trips. They are a luxury animal sometimes called the golden camel as a reference to their coloration and value.

[yzegem]

Ogres in the culture of the Sun Empire.

The heartland of the Sun Empire contains the massive delta of the Daus River. This regions houses one of the largest populations of ogres in the whole continent.

Even though ogres are not related to humans, they resemble them and their horrifying appearence and might have been the subject of interest from most cultures of the western coast of the continent, including the Sun Empire.

Ogres are taken as cubs from their mothers when they are small enough to be transported alive safely and kept in captivity for the rest of their lives.

Ogres present extreme sexual dimorfism. Both males and females are born as tadpoles from eggs and grow into a salamander growth stage after than. Only females ogres become terrestrial after that, lose their tail and become large browsing animals while males remain mostly aquatic and resemble an alligator in shape and niche.

Female ogres are usually the ones captured and the fact that the male and female ogres are the same species is not widespread.

Ogres are used in human sacrifices, usually those of prisioners of war.

These sacred ogres are usually decorated with gold and cristal/ceramic beads, wich are each blessed by a priest and after the death of the ogre can be gifted as sacred talismans, as well as the body parts of the ogre.

The sacrifice is usually done by throwing the victim in a pit where the ogre is kept.

Given that being fed to an ogre is the very likely demise of many survivors of defeated armies, ogres are used as a symbol by warriors of the sun Empire as a way of psychological Warfare.

Here is an ogre banner displayed at the side of a war macouse.

And here is a member of the warrior caste in full war gear and face paint performing a war dance. During these dances warriors place their shields, often bearing ogre drawings, in front of themselves so that they look like said beast.