Shlamoubis (Shlamoubis)

History and origin

The Shlamoubis are very distant descendants of what used to be domestic sheep.
Because of limited capacities of what could be taken during the grand migration, any cattle that would be taken had to be very versatile and had to have a great chance for survival in the new environment.
While the first domestic sheep were reluctant to carry and pull anything, the training and breeding continued with neverending optimism. The milk the sheeps produced helped feed the humans before the social restructuration was finished. Before the first adaptations showed up after few generations, the sheep survived the colder weather atop the Atocites thanks to their wool.
These adaptations to the higher environments and increasingly heavier objects to pull caused the sheep to evolve into what is now called the Shlamoubis.

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Description and anatomy

The people who brought the sheep targeted their breeding and training over the years to promote values similar to that of other animals which had to be left behind on the Ground below. In some cases, it succeeded and in some, it succeeded to less degree.
The result is, that there are few distinctive breeds of Shlamoubis on some Atocites nurtured for something else than the commonly accepted primal breed. On these alternative breeds, the target values were different.
The main breed of Shlamoubis developed short but strong muscular legs, capable of pulling and carrying weight similar to that of the horse. As such, they still reach the height of half a meter. While their legs allow them to carry materials and various products all around Atocites, they are not suited to be mounts as their legs are not built for fast movement but efficient use of their strength. This happened because the Atocites rarely had enough space to allow for training and breeding focused on running and speed. Only one Atocite is known for the mount-oriented breeding of Shlamoubis.
The main body of Shlamoubis is covered in thick wool which took in brown and sometimes black colors. The coloring increases light absorption to generate heat. While this wool keeps the Shlamoubis warm and safe during winters and longer nights, during summer and hot days it can make them dangerously hot. The harvest of wool then needs to be done before the hot days of summer hits. This provides refiners enough time to turn the wool into warm clothing before winter.

The head of Shlamoubis is decorated with either 4 small, sharp horns for females or 2 thicker ones for males. These horns are sturdy enough to be used for tools or as drinking cups or liquid holders. Many Raiders value them for various reasons ranging from practical use to simple decoration and jewelry. Many Atocites are known for their breed of exotically horned Shlamoubis.

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Life cycle, behavior, and diet

The Shlamoubis are bred and born in dedicated ranches, which usually take a lot of space on the Atocite. They are mostly passive, with aggressive behavior being a rarity. When rewarding a Shlamoubis, one must take extra care, as they get easily spoiled. The spoiled specimen is usually using its intelligence and refuses to use all its strength for work. Spoiled Shlamoubis put more effort and strength during the test, but much less during actual work.
When born, it is left in the care of its mother until it becomes able to walk. Right after it becomes able to walk, its carrying strength is tested by attaching it to a cart.
As it carries and pulls the cart, specific weights are put to the cart until the Shlamoubis is unable to move it. The Shlamoubis is then marked depending on how much it managed to pull, with a special mark being used for cases that did not pull even the empty cart.
This test is repeated every year and the result is always redone before any trade. Shlamoubis which fail to show progress pulling the cart are castrated to prevent the weak specimen from spawning offspring and are instead nurtured for meat.
The first 3 years the young Shlamoubis practice with dummy wheels to get used to them before they are allowed onto the real ones. In case of an accident with the wheel, it could result in loss of the resources gained in Raid.
After the 3 years, they will be ready for the real wheels, where they spend the majority of their life.
After 5 years, the Shlamoubis become mature and fully grown. They are either immediately paired for breeding depending on their lifetime track of weight pulling or offered for trade among other breeders. This way it was ensured that the strongest breed continues on. During this part of their time, the Shlamoubis pairs are able to spawn 2-4 younglings each year for about 5 more years.
After 10 years of life. Unless they had exceptional weight capacity, the Shlamoubis are butchered for the meat after the mating prime, as they are replaced by new generations.
The Shlamoubis are omnivore, eating both the grasses on the Atocites as well as meat. However due to concerns regarding the Corruption and the Flow a very strict diet must be foloweed.
This diet means that nothing that ever consumed anything exposed to corruption can be fed to Shlamoubis, if Corruption ever gained a significant presence in their bodies, it could result in siphoning off the Flow keeping the Atocites afloat.
Because of this, the Shlamoubis are fed strictly the grasses of Atocites, which were fertilized by Shlamoubis or with the meat of their own. This diet often warrant a Planner to maintain the fertilization, feeding, and overall small enclosed ecosystem.
Shlamoubis that are even suspected to have consumed something corrupted are immediately butchered and served to people, never to another Shlamoubis.

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Products and use

Wool
One of the most stable products of the Shlamoubis is their wool. This warm and dark-colored wool is sought after for both its comfort and warmth. Various other colors were attempted to be bred out, but no other colors were ever created except for brown and black of various intensities.
Horns
The sturdy and beautiful horns of the Shlamoubis are used both as decoration, and tight liquid holders. Sought by the Licyret who fill it with Light Flow to sell out.
Comes in various levels of beauty, ranging from plain and simple, to complex and exotic.
Milk
While the Shlamoubis milk is sort of sour, it does allow for easy cheese and butter making. Attempt to breed Shlamoubis with better tasting milk were confirmed as successful by accident. As it was found out that the stronger the Shlamoubis is, the more sour its milk is. The weakest ones, therefore, have the sweetest milk.
Meat
Thanks to the almost daily need for Raiders to go on a Raid, the Shlamoubis are constantly moving, as they are used to bring the loot back up onto the Atocite. Thanks to this life full of work followed with free walking, their leg meat is one of the best meat available on Atocitera.
Workforce
Because the Raiders are constantly bringing in new resources, the main work for Shlamoubis is in turning the wheels pulling up their loot. Due to that, the amount of things Raiders can bring up from their raiding is directly proportional to the strength of the Shlamoubis turning the wheel.

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Lifespan: 10 years
0-3 years - Young age, training.
3-5 years - Productive age.
5-10 years - Breeding and productive age.
10 years - Butchery for meat.

Diet:
Grass fertilized by Shlamoubis themselves.
The meat of other Shlamoubis.
Anything that came in contact with the Corruption is forbidden.

Products:
Wool
Horns
Meat & Milk
Workforce