Dire

An Explanation of beasts

The term "Dire" is used describe a particular condition that can appear in the offspring of creatures who have been in some way affected by or exposed to Universal Philia. The condition first appeared sometime in the last thousand years, recorded by the Ozolithian Pathfinders in their many journeys North.

The codices they wrote reported sightings of unusually large animals. These animals are otherwise indistinguishable from their smaller counterparts. They usually appear twice to four times the size of the more mundane variety. On top of their unusual size, they also exhibited abnormal intelligence such as being capable of planning and complex problem solving.

Diagnosis

Understanding the condition and its connection to Philia took months of study for these Wardens, who did so to better understand Philia itself. They concluded that Philia emits an aura of some sort that can even penetrate to the womb and cause this growth.

Domestication

The process of taming these creatures would not happen until The Mhirrian Diaspora, detailed in The Journal of Mhirriah. The creatures in what once was called the Forests of Germ were ferocious and hostile towards the travelers. Many of them were foreign to the Mhirrians, but were simply overgrown varieties of more mundane creatures to the north. The Mhirrians did learn to tame them, finding the process much easier than their normal varieties. This is likely due to increased intelligence, as they are more receptive to training and easier to befriend when in a passive state.