On the Caerbannog Dire Hare

Excerpt from A Guide to Harvesting and Harnessing All The Wild Has To Offer

(Pages 26-27, from Chapter 1- Ferocious mammals)

The Caerbannog Dire Hare

Named after the Carebannog Hills, the caves there said to be from where they originate, Dire Hares are a deadly hazard known to any traveller of Gilden. They can be found all over the green lands, from the southern plains, central valleys, and northern highlands. A common misconception about Dire Hares is that they possess paralyzing venom. They are not venomous, they induce paralysis in their victims by slicing apart important nerves and muscle cords with their large, sharp teeth. It is unknown whether it is due to keen intelligence or deadly instinct that they target these specific weak points on any given species. They are carnivorous, and regularly attack creatures much larger than them, including grizzlyclaws, reaper dogs, and also upright peoples, like humans. I once heard of a man who was fully decapitated by a Dire Hare, but I haven’t yet verified if that was true. Still, when encountering a Caerbannog Dire Hare, make sure you have properly protected your ankles, wrists, inner knees and elbows, and neck, with metal armour. Leather armour won’t withstand the Hare’s bite.

At a glance, Caerbannog Dire Hares look just like normal rabbits. They tend to be larger, with coarser fur, and their skulls are shaped differently, with wider, taller jaws to accommodate their much larger teeth. Their eyes also are more foreward-facing than a normal rabbit’s. Their fur can be a variety of colours, most commonly dark gray, light brown, or black, sometimes a mix.

One way to kill a Caerbannog Dire Hare would be to decapitate it, but this would require close combat and would be a method of dispatching only for the extremely confident or foolish, as Dire Hares are very swift, and you would have to be swifter. I recommend hunting them from a distance with bow and arrow, or by setting traps.

Recommended uses for various components of Caerbannog Dire Hare

The Fur

Caerbannog Hare fur is not as soft as a normal rabbit’s, but it is much denser and grows longer. It is a very good fur to wear in winter. If you plan to make a coat or doublet out of Caerbannog Hare fur, I suggest collecting enough pelts to make two of your chosen pattern, and double lining it so you have the fur both on the inside and outside. For the outer pelts, soak them in a solution of warm water, dried hag’s needles, and duck oil, for a good hour, massaging the fur in the mixture to make sure it’s all properly coated, then rinse thoroughly and dry. When treated this way, the already thick fur will be even better sealed against moisture, and will work better to keep you dry in the snow. Wool may still keep you warm even if wet, but it’s still better for your health not to get wet in cold weather in the first place.

The Teeth

The Caerbannog Hare’s incisor teeth, as in the four frontal ones which are the largest and sharpest, are generally between the lengths of a child’s and man’s little finger, and can be adapted into blades suited for a vast range of things. For example, I have a pair of bladed pinchers I fashioned to more easily and safely cut fingernails, and also sometimes use Caerbannog Hare’s teeth as razors and scalpels. They’re convenient for these tasks because you can pinch the roots for a decent hold on them and not much tinkering is needed to make them into tools, but if you have very large hands or lack fine dexterity you may want to attach the teeth to a handle of some kind anyway. Like any bone blade, maintenance is required to keep them good and sharp if they see regular use.

The Bones

Caerbannog Dire Hares are creatures with strong auras of death and bloodlust. This makes their bones useful for a number of spells and rituals pertaining to mortality, and they’re especially good as questing bones, or to make talismans to reveal and commune with lingering spirits of the deceased. Of course, this advice is really only useful to a witch, so if you’re not a witch then you should probably just turn the bones into soup stock.

The Meat

Caerbannog Dire Hare has the same flavour as normal rabbit meat, but in my experience tends to be tougher in texture, unless the culled Hare was a juvenile. So I recommend using it for stew rather than a roast, which would get too dry. As an aside, the tendons are rather thin but still very durable, so they are good to use as cordage, cinching, and thread, as long as a small amount is all that’s needed.

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Recipe for Caerbannog Dire Hare Stew

Ingredients:

• Meat of 1 Caerbannog Hare, cut
• 6 large potatoes
• 10 carrots
• 1 onion
• 2 laurel leaves
• Half spoon basil
• Half spoon shore violet
• Half spoon thyime
• 1 pinch pepper
• 2 pinch salt
• 3 cups stock
• 1 cup red wine (optional, if no wine use another cup of stock)

Cut potatoes into squares, slice carrots and onion, and layer vegetables at the bottom of pot. Add meat, herbs and spices, and liquid. Cover with lid and cook over low fire for eight to ten hours, stirring occasionally. Allow to thicken as desired. Serve with bread.