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Mooan are large, wingless birds of the [[Daendroc]] grasslands. They eat insects and seeds, are endlessly preyed upon, and are generally considered useless, stupid creatures.  
{{Info fauna
|officialname = Mooan
|nicknames = Wagglenecks, Moaning Bird
|classification = [[Bird]]
|habitat = [[Daen]]
|domesticated = Yes
|status = Common
|}}
Mooan are large, wingless birds found roaming the expansive grasslands of [[Daen]]. They eat a simple diet of insects and seeds, which is just about as simple as their brain. Known for their distinctive “Mooan” cry that gives them their name and their tactic of falling over as a distraction, the [[Cielothar]] have managed to tame a population of the animal in their settlements and overall the Mooan has survived countless harrowing events. It is unlikely that the animal will vanish from the Ularen Plains that they call home any time soon.


==Physical Description==
==History==
The head of a mooan appears disproportionately small when compared to their large bodies, lengthy necks, and incredibly long legs. They stand slightly shorter than the average man, most standing at five and a half feet and weighing 125-150 pounds.
The Mooan, despite their silly appearance and actions, have endured for untold generations in [[Aloria]]. The [[Seraph]] seem to have hunted the flightless bird for sport as murals from that time show this activity in fragmented scenes. While records of them were lacking over the coming thousands of years, when the [[Allorn Empire]] emerged on Daen, they discovered the bird in great numbers in the Ularen Plains. Over the subsequent centuries, the Mooan were bred into captivity and their wild counterparts were gradually hunted to death by [[Elven]] princes or those seeking target practice for their magical arts. By the time of the [[Cataclysm]] however, the animal had fallen out of favor and was sequestered to a handful of farmland estates in the Plains’ north. When the Cataclysm hit, the animals were freed from their farms but many soon fell to predators and desperate slaves and former citizens of the crumbling Empire. They then faded from memory and the world. They were not recorded again until 167 AC, when a group of [[Dwarves]] seeking adventure and knowledge about the Allorn Empire visited one of the ruined farmland estates in the northern Ularen Plains, which were now half consumed by an encroaching jungle.  
 
Mooan are fairly consistent in their appearance. However, the southern mooan do not have feathers adorning their necks or heads, whereas northern mooan are covered from the head down to the upper reaches of the leg. It is assumed that the southern mooan do not have feathers due to the warmer temperatures in the more southerly areas.
 
==Habitat and Behavior==
Mooan inhabit the grassy plains of Daendroc. They sometimes travel in large flocks of up to 100, although it is more common for them to number around 30. They eat insects and seeds, a plentiful food source in their habitat. They also supply a ready source of meat for the predators of Daendroc. While stringy and thin, they are exceedingly stupid, and known for a peculiar adaptation where one or two of the flock will faint during an attack, allowing the others to flee to safety. Countering this survival tactic is their excessive birthrate—one mating pair may produce up to twenty young for each year of their pairing.
 
Though a native predator can feed itself for a week simply by travelling alongside a flock of mooan, the birds are rarely considered a desirable food source by more intelligent races, due to their notoriously fibrous and gamey meat.


==First Recorded Encounter==
To their surprise, they discovered the Mooan still alive inside the tumbled down walls and grain bins, having survived by hiding or fleeing back to the places that kept them alive over a century ago. While not what the Dwarves were looking for, they eventually revealed the information to a group of Cielothar while they continued on their travels. The Cielothar immediately rushed to the aid of the animal, clearing the jungle back and taking many of the birds into their care. Those that escaped or were overlooked quickly returned to the plains life they had once known and by 230 AC became commonplace across the Plains and Cielothar settlements. While the [[Ranger Crisis]] and the events that preceded it did damage their population, none were more devastating than the alliance of the [[Regalian Empire]] and the [[Eronidas]]. [[Ollivear]] spread into the Plains and harassed their homes, the [[Avanthar]] were forced to hunt the bird in greater numbers for supplies, and the Eronidas themselves took turns playing games with the dull-witted animals. Eventually, the population evened out and surprisingly the [[Bone Horror Crisis]] did little to affect their numbers as great herds of Mooan either trampled their unsensible attackers to death or miraculously avoided them due to their random body movements. Today the Mooan remain a staple of the Ularen Plains, rushing across the plains while their domesticated fellows are often found in and around Cielothar villages.  
It is unknown when the mooan were originally discovered, but ancient [[Seraph]] texts show that they hunted them for sport long before the birth of the [[Elven Empire]]. The first widely-documented account of a people meeting mooan came much later, when a group of [[Dwarf|Dwarven]] historians explored the old [[Elf|Elven]] ruins of Daendroc. They discovered a several large groups of strange bird-like creatures seemingly penned within the ruins. After further exploration, it appeared to have been an Elven farm. It is theorised that once the empire had fallen, the mooan colony thrived within the large, predator free field that was allotted for them, while their free brethren were driven to near extinction by unchecked predation during the post-empire period.


Years later, a decline in the overall populations of predatory species in the greater area allowed those colonies of a few hundred to swell to countless thousands. Sighting after sighting now confirms that they are sustaining heavy numbers.  
==Physical Appearance==
 
The Mooan is a fairly large bird despite its inability to fly, standing at five and a half feet while weighing anywhere between 125 to 150 pounds. Their heads are disproportionately small when compared to their larger bodies, with a small dull yellow beak and a pair of large green eyes. Their head is attached to their plump body by a long neck while a pair of equally long legs support them upright on large, three-toed clawed feet (though the claws are often dull). The Mooan possess no tailfan and their wings are almost inconsequential, each barely reaching a foot long though they are rarely if ever extended outside of stressful situations. Their bodies are covered in distinctive feathers with various patches of deep blue, purple, brown and yellow along their bodies and across the two genders.  
==History==
===Diversity===
Seraph would go out in large groups and chase down flocks of mooan, frightening them to death and stabbing the remainder with spears. Salted meat would be prepared upon return to their settlements. The Elves followed their ancestors, although mostly hunting mooan for sport and never in great numbers. [[Humans]] of [[Regalia]] also hunted mooan, though they did not know enough about the species to even consider the efficiency of the Seraph/Elven method. Instead, they would keep their distance, spearing the group individually.
The Mooan has an equal number of males and females in their population, though individual flocks can skew male or female. Their species has one of the greatest levels of diversity in the animal kingdom. The first difference is that found between genders, as males will possess dark blue, purple and yellow feathers while females have dark blue, purple and brown feathers. In addition to this, there is further diversification within the location of Mooan. Those who live on the plains possess fluffed feathers along their neck and legs while those who live in captivity or domestication possess little to no feathers on these areas.  
===Life Span and Development===
The Mooan is born from a small beige egg with blue speckles laid in clutches of anywhere between ten to twenty. When they emerge from their shells they are tiny, blind, and featherless. Their mother will do her best to help them and for those Mooan who are domesticated, Cielothar often help as well. Over the course of two years, the chicks will grow from their small original size to their full adult one. At this point, they are considered mature though many animal professionals note the curious lack of intellect demonstrated by the Mooan. Some believe that the creature has been permanently scarred from generations of hunting and death by the Seraph and all their successors, resulting in irreversible mental damage. Despite their lacking intellect, Mooan are able to reproduce at the age of two and have the ability to live anywhere between ten and fifteen years.  


After the fall of the Elven Empire and the subsequent Dwarven liberation of the mooan trapped within the ruins, they recovered fully from the brink of extinction. Aside from natural predators, the greatest threat to their numbers has come with the discovery of ‘mooan rope.’ Elves have recently discovered that preserved mooan tendon makes an extremely strong, although somewhat disgusting, form of rope. Their feathers too are useful, filling pillows and low-quality furniture.
==Mental Overview==
The Mooan is a dull bird with only basic survival and parental skills intact inside their small heads. They do however possess one interesting mental trait: If a flock is in danger of encirclement or attack, anywhere between two and five of their number will faint, making their trademark “Moo-aaaan” sound to distract and draw the attention of the threat. This either allows the flock to get away, and those Mooan that fell to follow them soon after, or those that fainted will be eaten or attacked as the rest of the flock gets away. To make up for this, pairs of Mooan reproduce every mating season in order to ensure their flock has a stable population. As parents, Mooan are lacking in many areas. While they do show their children how to eat and methods of walking, they frequently intermix their offspring to the point that over the course of a day, a chick can wander through the family of six different pairings. This does have a purpose as by the time they grow up, families will be so mixed that children are incredibly unlikely to mate with their siblings as they often very near to suitable mates. These traits are also present for those Mooan in captivity, though the Cielothar help ensure the animal’s safety and that they mate with proper partners.
===Territory and Groupings===
Mooan inhabit the grassy Ularen Plains of Daen and are nomadic creatures. Their flocks often number more than 100 and they move randomly across the grasslands as they consume their diet of insects and seeds. The speed of their running is greatly varied and chicks are sometimes left behind or fall behind the pack, though if they are not swallowed up by some creature of the night, they will have rejoined their flock the next day.


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*The name ‘mooan’ may have been a cruel joke by the Seraph derived from the sound they make when fainting.  
*Supposedly, there has only been one recorded case of a Mooan ever killing a human being. In 274 AC, a Daendroque nobleman sent 100 hunters and trappers into the Plains to retrieve a large sum of Mooan feathers. To his surprise, one did not return and the hunters reported a startled flock had trampled the man to death instead of parting around him.
*Mooan may not be much good to eat, but some uncivilized peoples in northern Daendroc consider them to be sacred animals that guard the innocent from harm, due to the way large flocks of mooan may choose to follow a group of people, seemingly without reason. Others attribute this quirk to the general stupidity of the creatures.  
*Mooan meat is gamey and unappetizing to most sentient Races, so when they are hunted, it is for their feathers and their bones.  
*Some excluded sects of Elves believe that rancid mooan flesh has healing properties, likely due slight but inexplicable numbing qualities the flesh has when applied directly to the skin. However, such usage is often, and rightly, ridiculed by members of proper society, in part due to the risk of infection.
{{fauna}}
{{Template:Beasts}}
{{Accreditation
----
|Writers = HydraLana
====Accreditation====
|Processors = SupremeCripple
----
}}
*Written by [[User:Pyr0maniacal|Pyr0maniacal]].
[[category:Fauna]] [[category:Birds]] [[category:Teled Methen Fauna]] [[category:Teled Varren Fauna]] [[category:Hyarroc Fauna]] [[category:Daendroc Fauna]] [[category:Ithania Fauna]] [[category:Ashal Isles Fauna]]
*Processed by [[User:Levers|Levers]], [[User:Shayin|Shayin]], and [[User:Plecy|Plecy]].
[[category:beasts]]

Revision as of 23:02, 25 May 2021

Mooan
Noimg.png
Fauna
Official Name Mooan
Common Nicknames Wagglenecks, Moaning Bird
Classification Bird
Habitat Daen
Domesticated Yes
Current Status Common

Mooan are large, wingless birds found roaming the expansive grasslands of Daen. They eat a simple diet of insects and seeds, which is just about as simple as their brain. Known for their distinctive “Mooan” cry that gives them their name and their tactic of falling over as a distraction, the Cielothar have managed to tame a population of the animal in their settlements and overall the Mooan has survived countless harrowing events. It is unlikely that the animal will vanish from the Ularen Plains that they call home any time soon.

History

The Mooan, despite their silly appearance and actions, have endured for untold generations in Aloria. The Seraph seem to have hunted the flightless bird for sport as murals from that time show this activity in fragmented scenes. While records of them were lacking over the coming thousands of years, when the Allorn Empire emerged on Daen, they discovered the bird in great numbers in the Ularen Plains. Over the subsequent centuries, the Mooan were bred into captivity and their wild counterparts were gradually hunted to death by Elven princes or those seeking target practice for their magical arts. By the time of the Cataclysm however, the animal had fallen out of favor and was sequestered to a handful of farmland estates in the Plains’ north. When the Cataclysm hit, the animals were freed from their farms but many soon fell to predators and desperate slaves and former citizens of the crumbling Empire. They then faded from memory and the world. They were not recorded again until 167 AC, when a group of Dwarves seeking adventure and knowledge about the Allorn Empire visited one of the ruined farmland estates in the northern Ularen Plains, which were now half consumed by an encroaching jungle.

To their surprise, they discovered the Mooan still alive inside the tumbled down walls and grain bins, having survived by hiding or fleeing back to the places that kept them alive over a century ago. While not what the Dwarves were looking for, they eventually revealed the information to a group of Cielothar while they continued on their travels. The Cielothar immediately rushed to the aid of the animal, clearing the jungle back and taking many of the birds into their care. Those that escaped or were overlooked quickly returned to the plains life they had once known and by 230 AC became commonplace across the Plains and Cielothar settlements. While the Ranger Crisis and the events that preceded it did damage their population, none were more devastating than the alliance of the Regalian Empire and the Eronidas. Ollivear spread into the Plains and harassed their homes, the Avanthar were forced to hunt the bird in greater numbers for supplies, and the Eronidas themselves took turns playing games with the dull-witted animals. Eventually, the population evened out and surprisingly the Bone Horror Crisis did little to affect their numbers as great herds of Mooan either trampled their unsensible attackers to death or miraculously avoided them due to their random body movements. Today the Mooan remain a staple of the Ularen Plains, rushing across the plains while their domesticated fellows are often found in and around Cielothar villages.

Physical Appearance

The Mooan is a fairly large bird despite its inability to fly, standing at five and a half feet while weighing anywhere between 125 to 150 pounds. Their heads are disproportionately small when compared to their larger bodies, with a small dull yellow beak and a pair of large green eyes. Their head is attached to their plump body by a long neck while a pair of equally long legs support them upright on large, three-toed clawed feet (though the claws are often dull). The Mooan possess no tailfan and their wings are almost inconsequential, each barely reaching a foot long though they are rarely if ever extended outside of stressful situations. Their bodies are covered in distinctive feathers with various patches of deep blue, purple, brown and yellow along their bodies and across the two genders.

Diversity

The Mooan has an equal number of males and females in their population, though individual flocks can skew male or female. Their species has one of the greatest levels of diversity in the animal kingdom. The first difference is that found between genders, as males will possess dark blue, purple and yellow feathers while females have dark blue, purple and brown feathers. In addition to this, there is further diversification within the location of Mooan. Those who live on the plains possess fluffed feathers along their neck and legs while those who live in captivity or domestication possess little to no feathers on these areas.

Life Span and Development

The Mooan is born from a small beige egg with blue speckles laid in clutches of anywhere between ten to twenty. When they emerge from their shells they are tiny, blind, and featherless. Their mother will do her best to help them and for those Mooan who are domesticated, Cielothar often help as well. Over the course of two years, the chicks will grow from their small original size to their full adult one. At this point, they are considered mature though many animal professionals note the curious lack of intellect demonstrated by the Mooan. Some believe that the creature has been permanently scarred from generations of hunting and death by the Seraph and all their successors, resulting in irreversible mental damage. Despite their lacking intellect, Mooan are able to reproduce at the age of two and have the ability to live anywhere between ten and fifteen years.

Mental Overview

The Mooan is a dull bird with only basic survival and parental skills intact inside their small heads. They do however possess one interesting mental trait: If a flock is in danger of encirclement or attack, anywhere between two and five of their number will faint, making their trademark “Moo-aaaan” sound to distract and draw the attention of the threat. This either allows the flock to get away, and those Mooan that fell to follow them soon after, or those that fainted will be eaten or attacked as the rest of the flock gets away. To make up for this, pairs of Mooan reproduce every mating season in order to ensure their flock has a stable population. As parents, Mooan are lacking in many areas. While they do show their children how to eat and methods of walking, they frequently intermix their offspring to the point that over the course of a day, a chick can wander through the family of six different pairings. This does have a purpose as by the time they grow up, families will be so mixed that children are incredibly unlikely to mate with their siblings as they often very near to suitable mates. These traits are also present for those Mooan in captivity, though the Cielothar help ensure the animal’s safety and that they mate with proper partners.

Territory and Groupings

Mooan inhabit the grassy Ularen Plains of Daen and are nomadic creatures. Their flocks often number more than 100 and they move randomly across the grasslands as they consume their diet of insects and seeds. The speed of their running is greatly varied and chicks are sometimes left behind or fall behind the pack, though if they are not swallowed up by some creature of the night, they will have rejoined their flock the next day.

Trivia

  • Supposedly, there has only been one recorded case of a Mooan ever killing a human being. In 274 AC, a Daendroque nobleman sent 100 hunters and trappers into the Plains to retrieve a large sum of Mooan feathers. To his surprise, one did not return and the hunters reported a startled flock had trampled the man to death instead of parting around him.
  • Mooan meat is gamey and unappetizing to most sentient Races, so when they are hunted, it is for their feathers and their bones.

Accreditation
Writers HydraLana
Processors SupremeCripple
Last Editor Firefan96 on 05/25/2021.

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