Silat Wolf
| Silat Wolf | |
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| Fauna | |
| Official Name | Silat Wolf |
| Common Nicknames | Ciel Wolf, Sol Hunter |
| Classification | Mammal |
| Habitat | Plains and light arboreal regions of central and southern Daen |
| Domesticated | Yes |
| Current Status | Uncommon |
The Silat Wolf is a strange creature: a small species of wolf used as a steed by the Cielothar, but also one that is omnivorous, unique in the world of domesticated canines. Emerging at an unknown time centuries ago, the Silat Wolf survived at the edges of the Allorn Empire until its collapse, and the rising Cielothar and subsequent recovery of nature allowed their population to rebound. Highly independent, those trained by the Wind Elves can fight independently from their rider in combat, making them superb defenders of the embattled Race.
History
Where and when the Silat Wolf first emerged into the wilds of Daen is unknown. Some claim the creatures to be as old as the Altalar themselves, but this is now largely rejected by even the Cielothar. Whether they later arrived in some migration or came from another continent is unclear, but around 1500 BC, the Silat Wolf was being noted at the fringes of the Allorn Empire. While a species of wolf, they were fairly docile and openly omnivorous, eating fruits and vegetation along with more traditional sources of meat. They became a minor threat to Altalar fruit plantations but soon became associated with the rural Altalar, and those groups who sought to remove themselves from the urbanization of the Empire. Over the coming centuries, the Wolf was tamed, becoming a common companion to these people, and as they changed so too did the Silat, developing into a mount for those who were soon to be known as the Cielothar. As the Allorn Empire crumbled, what few wild Silat remained fully retreated into the forest depths and remnants of nature between the vast cities, while those that had been domesticated remained safe in communities that clung to the edges of these metropolises. Following the Wildering and the true emergence of the Cielothar into their current form, the Silat Wolf became known to wider Aloria as a companion to the Wind Elves, while groups in the wild rebounded as nature reclaimed huge parts of the Daen continent. Today, the Silat Wolf remains a companion to the Cielothar, suffering alongside their masters in recent years, while those in the wild now face the encroachment of logging and mining interests once again.
Physical Appearance
The Silat Wolf stands between four to five feet tall, sits at five feet long, and weighs about 100 pounds for all members of their species. Despite the animal’s broader similarities to a wolf, their face has a fox-like quality, with a long narrow muzzle, black nose, small brown, forward-facing eyes, and large, forward-facing pointed ears. Their neck is short, though it possesses a mane of longer hair along the spine and underside which rapidly fades into the rest of the animal’s body. They are sleek and thin, with narrow, strong legs built for running, each resting on a firm but delicate foot. Their body ends in a long, pointed, and fluffy tail. Silat Wolves are covered in a thin layer of body fur that is only notable in the mane that exists around their neck. Their body hair is a mix of color, with beiges, and tan shades along much of their bodies and faces, which have a gleaming character to them that sparkles in the sun, while entirely white fur, which does not gleam, covers their paws and makes up their mane.
Diversity
Silat Wolves lack sexual dimorphism of any kind and have a stable population ratio between the sexes. However, it is noted that most domesticated Silat grows to the upper limits of the species while those in the wild are often on the smaller spectrum of appearances.
Life Span and Development
Silat Wolves are born in litters of between two and six members. As pups, their body hair is extremely light, and they are cared for equally by their mother and their father during this vulnerable time. They mature quickly, their pup fur vanishing to give way to their adult colorations after only three months. After only one year, they will have reached full adulthood. At this stage in the wild, new Silat adults will be either driven off by their father and forced to make new lives for themselves in the pack or beyond it or peacefully disconnect from their parents to do the same. In domesticated surroundings though, Silat Wolves often only gradually drift away from their parents, with little aggression or immediate incentive to push them away. This sometimes results in Silat siblings helping to raise their baby brothers and sisters in a later litter produced by their parents. Silat Wolves live up to twenty years in the wild, while those in domesticated surroundings can reach as high as forty.
Mental Overview
Silat Wolves are highly independent creatures, and are also described as “inventive” while also being seen to possess a heightened intellect likened to a mixture of the cunning of a fox with the ferocity of a wolf. In the wild, Silat tend to hunt alone or in small groups, shirking the normal mentality of pack hunting to instead focus on, and stealthily take down key targets hunted over as much as two weeks, though such a length of time is rare. Their hunting activities often mask the surprising fact that they do not solely eat meat, and also consume fruits and other local plantlife to Daen as easily as most herbivores. They are true omnivores, and this helps to sustain them in their careful, methodical hunting periods, as well as when meat is scarce. Silat Wolves will then bring what leftovers they have, or when hunting for pups will bring the kill wholesale back to their pack den to consume their meals or meal communally. Silat Wolves have also shown an ability to learn and adapt, being capable of understanding hunting traps after previously encountering them, and rarely viewing an easy meal without suspicion. In domesticated surroundings, their independence makes them into tremendous tools of battle and defense among the Cielothar, as they will fight separately from their rider against identified foes. Their craftiness also reveals itself in how Silat, pups in particular, can escape confinement or appear in surprising places to the concern but lighthearted annoyance of the Cielothar who retrieve them.
Territory and Groupings
Wild Silat Wolves live across plains areas and light jungles or forested regions of central and southern Daen. Packs of Silat Wolves sit at up to six to ten mated adults, led by an alpha male, with a score of single male and female Silat who can come and go as they please. Omegas, solitary Silat, are extremely rare as the animal is heavily communal. Silat packs live in communal den regions, sometimes semi-underground areas like caves or beneath the shelter of rocky overhangs, but other dens may simply be in forest clearings. In domesticated surroundings though, Silat packs can often be much larger, and while they still possess an alpha, the true dominant force is the Cielothar who help tend the species. Silat of this variety can easily be broken apart and combined with other packs as needed, and are kept in semi-underground pens called Silaburrows. However, putting two alphas together is a recipe for trouble, and Cielothar takes great pains to ensure this does not happen.
Trivia
- Silat Wolf pelts, highly prized by nobles and well-off Ailor, are viewed as abhorrent by the Cielothar. Even the hunting, warrior-focused Avanthar rarely seek to take down a Silat Wolf and wear its pelt for this reason.
- The Silat Wolf sometimes has the confusing experience of encountering a Lightblessed Familiar version of themselves, as Cielothar are capable of manifesting this animal as their Familiar. These interactions are often pleasant, but individual Silat Wolves may initially panic at the sudden appearance and disappearance of a creature so similar to them.
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