Three Tusk Tuverophant

Three Tusk Tuverophant
Fauna
Official Name	Three Tusk Tuverophant
Common Nicknames	Sendrassian Tri-Tusker
Classification	Mammal
Habitat	Hadaria
Domesticated	Yes
Current Status	Uncommon

The Three Tusk Tuverophant is a large land mammal from Sendrass known to both outsiders and natives for centuries. While its numbers were damaged by the Sendrassian civil war, they still remain on Sendras in a wild, but also domesticated form on Hadaria. Their three tusks are what gives them their name, though they are also known for their red-brown coat that traps moisture to cool them, which also allows plants to grow on their body. They are also known for their aggressive defense, as if you devote to engaging them; they will not stop until you’ve fled or you are dead. It is currently known if the Sendrassian Empire has mutated specimens of this race or if they even make use of it, but it is known well in wider Aloria.

History

The Three Tusk Tuverophant was likely discovered by the Allar centuries before the Cataclysm, but as they lacked the written word for many years, there is no information on such encounters. Instead, many anoint the Elves of the Allorn Empire as their discoverers when they reached the continent. Elven records speak of these large mammals approaching with curiosity, snuffling at the aristocratic faces with their trunks. This would indicate an unfamiliarity with outsiders or with sentient life, and while some were killed, the quick infections brought down upon the foreigners allowed many of the Tuverophants to be spared. In Allar records, they were one of the first animals mentioned, existing as beasts of burden to some groups while being viewed as little more than a meal for the leadership in others. The animal also existed in the wild and was a prey hunted by the predators of the continent. This state of affairs continued for quite some time, with the animal also becoming known to the Allorn as a highly sought-after prize for their menageries as the Elven Empire grew more decadent. By 100 BC, few samples were in private hands, and while it had moved off the dinner table for many Allar, it resulted in them becoming an animal of burden and closer to the Allar race.

When the Sendrassian Civil War came, this animal was a prime tool for warfare. Fitted with large saddles, the animal charged into battle alongside Two-Claw Raptors and Jungle Rhinos with archers firing arrows from the creature’s backs down on their enemies. However, they were one of the largest targets on the field and some of the quickest to fall in longer battles. To sustain this, Allar on both sides captured more wild specimens, training them for war. By the end of the war, wild specimens were wary of Allar, and many remaining wild Tuverophant herds spread out east along the Sendrassian coastline where they fell prey to new threats. Of those that remained, many were consumed by the Void, either literally as the Void convert Allar likely embraced a carnivorous diet or physically, tainted by the magical power. However, no such specimens have been seen. The remaining population still exists in their original state, though keep close to the coastline. As for the domesticated members of the species, those few loaded onto ships by the Hadarian Allar prospered and went on to live long lives in Hadaria. However, their numbers were cut by the Chrysant War and what few groups remain are often in the urban centers, where the hope is that the Allar can make them breed once again and repopulate their damaged, adopted homeland. However, Altalar, Ailor and Songaskian interests all follow these large mammals, and some may also be found in menageries or with entertainment groups in the regions occupied by these Races.

Physical Appearance

The Three Tusk Tuverophant is a large land mammal with vast heights, ranging from ten to fourteen feet. Their heads are massive, with three to five foot long tusks emerging from their face. Two are located above the mouth with the snout between them while the third, the shortest of the three, is found near the mouth and beneath the trunk. Their trunks are prehensile and have the ability suck and expel water, as well as acting in a hand-like fashion when dealing with smaller members of their species or any of the Alorian Races. Their eyes are large and black, with the only remaining feature being the large ears, almost like fans, that sit at the side of their head and tend to drop lower down the older they are. The rest of their body is powerfully built, made to support their large heads and keep their large size upright. A thick neck attaches the head to a thicker body, with four massive legs and feet ending in a short tail at their rear. The Tuverophant is covered in a leathery grey hide that varies in pattern, often possessing lighter patches around the face and joints. However, this is covered up by a thick pelt of red-brown hair that grows all over their body which traps and slowly releases moisture to help cool the large mammal. Their hair is also often filled with minor plantlife, such as moss, that grows thanks to the moisture. At the age of 70, their hair slowly becomes a grey color and falls out, though such specimens are rare since, in captivity, the Three Tusk Tuverophant can only live to a maximum age of 65.

Diversity

The Three Tusk Tuverophant has equal gender numbers and little external indicators of sex. However, male Tuverophants are always physically bigger than females.

Life Span and Development

Three Tusk Tuverophants are born as relatively single small calves, with twins possible but often taking a huge physical toll on the mother. Once they have been born, they are pale grey and hairless, requiring their parents to bathe them to keep cool. They also only have two very short tusks at this time and no sign of the third, as it will grow in later. They will then slowly mature at a rate consistent with that of sentient Races, possessing a thin coat by age ten and the beginnings of their third tusk. By the age of fifteen, their coat is complete, and their tusks have fully grown in, while their minds have also matured. It is at this stage that most leave their mother’s side for a more general role in the herd. Their tusks and coat will continue to grow along with their body, and by age twenty, they are considered complete adults, though some do not stop growing until the age of thirty.Tuverophants can live up to one hundred years old, but those in captivity live far shorter spans of 60 to 65.

Mental Overview

Wild Three Tusk Tuverophants are known to be more aggressive than their tamed brethren, likely a response to poaching and hunting over the years by various parties as well as their capture and use during the Sendrassian Civil War. Reversely, tamed Tuverophants are often friendly to other Races, especially those who they grew up around or who were their handlers when young. Aside from this, both varieties display many of the same traits and mental characteristics. Both are protective of their children, and only a cruel moron would separate one from their child. This can be especially bad in the early years of their child, leading so many handlers to do whatever they plan to with the child next, within sight lines of their protective mother. When dealing with other members of their species, both genders are civil to each other. Mated pairs demonstrate affection, and older Tuverophants rarely display irritation or anger with younger members of the species despite pulling at their hair or tail, knowing it is all just part of growing up. They are also playful, especially when young, blowing water into each other’s faces as a joke but also to cool off.

The one scary part of Three Tusk Tuverophants is their defense of their children and the herd at large. This often takes place in the wild since in domesticated settings, herds are both smaller and not as under threat from hunters or predators. When a herd does encounter such a threat, the females gather the calves and youth together and form a defensive barrier around them. Adult males go on the defensive and prepare to fight whatever it is attacking them. Should one of them fall, the herd will back off and wait to see if their attackers are bold enough to go for more. This is the only chance for an attacker to disengage. If they display interest in further attack, the males of the herd will strike and not relent. Packs of Two-Claw Raptor have been known to be devastated when their hunters never return from the hunt; their heads stomped beneath the powerful heels of Tuverophant feet. The same is also true of sentient races, Tuverophants known to squeeze people to death with their trunks. The only predator that is a real threat to a herd is the Sendrassian Long Maw Saurian, with its enormous size and deceptive call. Such encounters often end in the herd scattering into the brush, later regrouping once they are sure the predator has moved on.

Territory and Groupings

The Three Tusk Tuverophant lives in a herd structure, with an alpha male leading their movements across the land. In the wild, this nomadic route is always near rivers or the coastline of Sendras, as the Tuverophant has a fixation with water, mainly to cool themselves. In domesticated surroundings, alphas still exist but considering “herds” can sometimes just be a single female, the alpha and their child; they are just the lead animal by default. Alphas are also key to taming, as unless they are fully tamed, they may display a “rebellious” attitude, and the wider herd may mimic this behavior and cause issues for their handlers.

Trivia

• The oldest recorded Tuverophant to ever live belonged to the Serene Doge Afonso V de Lobo of Lusits, who cared for the female mammal deeply with a lush pen of Hadarian flora. “Ella” as she was known reached the ripe old age of one hundred and three years old before dying peacefully in her sleep in 301 AC. She is the only example of the species surviving past the age of 65 in captivity, but some believe that was due to alchemical assistance from local Allar.
• Three Tusk Tuverophants often travel near Jungle Rhinos, since both make use of water to cool themselves, and in a few rare cases, the two species show a willingness to come to the defense of the other.
• There is low-level evidence to suggest that being crushed to death by a Three Tusk Tuverophant was a form of punishment in Sendras around 200 BC.

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Accreditation
Writers HydraLana Processors HydraLana, BillyTheScroofy	Last Editor HydraLana on 01/14/2024.

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