urok (OO-rok, Thalik)

A large mammal native to the Y'dak. Uroks are most closely related to camels, but also possess features associated with equines and cervines.

Anatomy

Slightly larger than a horse, uroks possess humps like camels that help them retain water in the desert's vicious heat. However, their legs and hooves are more akin to those of a deer, allowing them to outpace all but the swiftest predators. Their necks and heads more closely resemble horses, with two small pairs of horns. They have a short main along their necks, and have tails about three hands long tipped with long, course hair. Their fur is course and primarily of a sandy color, though a red-haired variety can be found nearer the middle of the Kuvant.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Uroks are herbivores, and feed mostly on shrubs and grass. In the Kuvant their height also allows them to enjoy the leaves of trees. In the Y'dak, they use their long, rough tongues to strip the needles off of cacti so they can eat the water-laden petals. Like camels, uroks can go for a long time without water, taking it from the plants they eat as they travel between water holes. The staunchest of uroks can go over a year without a drink.

Domestication

For centuries, uroks have been bred and trained by both the burijai and kumajai as mounts, since they are faster and better suited to survive in the harsh climates of the desert and savannah. Uroks bred by the kumajai tend to inherit more of their feral traits and instincts, and generally live longer. Those bred by the burijai are gentler and less prone to aggressive behavior. However, since they are bred in the Kuvant's kinder environment, they tend to have weaker defensive instincts when it comes to fending off predators. Merchant caravans that regularly travel through the Y'dak pay handsomely for desert-bred uroks to help transport their goods.
Some clans of the na'kumaj also use uroks, though they prefer to steal beasts from others rather than capture and tame their own.

Geographic Locations

Wild urok herds primarily roam the area where the Kuvant and Y'dak meet, but many domesticated herds live much deeper in the desert where their owning clans keep a close eye on them.

by Kaari13

Type: mammal

Diet: herbivore

Habitat: grasslands, desert

Geographic Distribution

• The Kuvant
• The Y'dak

Related Articles

• The Kuvant
• The Fand'Ulan
• The Y'dak
• burijai
• kumajai
• madjai
• Kaer Thalion

Submitted for Summer Camp 2021.

My Summer Camp 2021 Pledge