Seragoth

'Let's cross the river at the ford,' Pelekanos suggested, 'for the beasts cannot swim.' The children scrambled down the riverbed, into the cool water and started to cross, but three of the animals, driven by their ravenous hunger, followed in pursuit, snarling savagely.

— The Sacrifice of Pelekanos

Indigenous to the eastern reaches of the former Laparan Empire, the wild seragoth roam the open hills making prey of grazing animals, occasionally venturing into settlements to grab livestock or the rare, unwitting, human. Bearing passing resemblance to the wolves they have driven out of the eastern foothills, seragoth are typically skittish creatures that shy away from human contact, but savage when cornered or in possession of overwhelming numbers.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Broad-chested and powerfully built, the seragoth generally resembles an overgrown wolf, given its quadrupedal frame, sinewy legs, shaggy brown-grey fur and long, drooping, tail. The similarities between the two beasts end there as the seragoth’s powerful chest gives way to an oversized head, resembling that of a small bear. Unique to the seragoth, however, is the pair of arm-like limbs that extend from shoulders flanking the base of the neck and end in clawed paws. While these arms are far from the dexterous limbs known to mankind, they are well suited to grappling and pinning prey while the killing blows are delivered with fang and claw.

Genetics and Reproduction

Seragoth, like all mammals, reproduce sexually, with gestation periods of roughly 32 weeks, after which the mother gives birth to a litter of roughly three young. Newly born seragoth are born with sight and typically develop the ability to walk within the first three days of their lives, learning the skills required to hunt for themselves after a few months. They become sexually mature after about 14 months of age.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Unless culled, the seragoth will move in from the hills and consume every last sheep in your farmsteads!

— Theodoros Gabras, hypokomis of Kestrel Keep

A dominant predator in its region, the seragoth, like many similar animals is capable of sustaining itself on carrion and vegetation for short periods of time, although it tends towards a largely carnivorous diet. Packs of seragoth are known to hunt together, surrounding potential quarry and overcoming it with overwhelming numbers. In lean times, the animals will overcome their skittishness towards humans and human settlements to carry away livestock from outskirt villages.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Highly social creatures, seragoth range through the hillside in packs typically numbered from four to seven adult creatures. Centered around a single male seragoth, each pack claims an area representative of its strength, and border disputes between packs occasionally turn lethal if herds of prey animals migrate from one pack's territory to another. Young males set out from their father's pack when mature and usually range as an outsider for some time before supplanting another male, claiming his pack as his own.

Domestication

While the seragoth has not fully been domesticated, there are those that keep individual specimens, typically as guard creatures. The animal’s pack nature, generally canine appearance, and apparent intelligence have caused many to assume they resemble dogs in training and domestication, although many involved have been injured or killed when the beast unexpectedly turned on its handler.

As guard animals, seragoth can surpass the value of more common animals, such as dogs, given their pack mentality and keen attention to detail. The sera goth poses a greater risk to any keeping it than wild dogs as they are known to attack their handlers with little or no provocation. Captive-bred seragoth are more docile than their wild counterparts and make poor guard animals as they refuse to howl and call until released into the wild.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Native to the foothills of the Pindus mountains, seragoth have only been spotted in the eastern districts of Achenae, Dhouskon, Vitala, Lorcyon, and provincial Ardhéa, where they have taken the ecological place occupied in other regions by wolves and bears.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Seragoth possess no exceptional capabilities to their sensory perception beyond what is typically expected of a dominant predator. Although they are completely colorblind, seeing the world in shades of grey, their sense of vision is highly tuned to catch sight of even the slightest movements. Likewise, they possess keen senses of hearing and smell and are whipped up in a particular frenzy by the scent of fresh blood, which they can distinguish from some distance.

Lifespan

8-10 years

Average Height

1.2m at the shoulder

Average Weight

80-90kg

Average Length

1.8m from nose to tail

The Imperial District

Although present in a number of districts on the eastern end of the Laparan Empire, the majority of Seragoth can be found in either the hilly region of Dhouskon or the Imperial District of Achenae, seat of the The Imperial House Nikolaides and its successor to the old empire.

Pelekanos Day

In western Achenae, wide-ranging seragoth hunts are held as part of the celebration of Pelekanos day, a local holiday surrounding the local myth of The Sacrifice of Pelekanos, who drowned while protecting the future Basilissa, Eirene Aristena, from a pack of approaching seragoth.