Gijars

They are related to the iapis, but far larger. Adult females weight between four and six tons while males can reach up to ten tons.    
      Gijars hunt Piwag Desert lizards and marine animals in the Sorrowful River. They do not have their cousins talent for climb trees but are great swimmers, and equally good runners. Often attacking merchant caravans and small ships to complement their carnivore died. 
      The specie is ferocious, very hard to capture alive, and considered immune to magic taming or training. 
      Even so, some human tribes on the Piwag to keep Gijars as mounts and cargo beasts. They never became docile, keeping most the ferocious behavior of wild animals. Dangerous animals to have, but also very useful. 
       Gijar bones are used to make helmets, and those are extremely valuable pieces of armour because they grant protection against spells that affect mind and perception. Who wears a helmet like that is all but completely immune to any Mind Spell, or illusion spell. And even better protected against natural powers similar to magic, such as the telepathic capacities giants can develop. The animals themselves are immune to Mind spells, illusion spells, and other means of manipulation of the mind that are similar to magic. In addition to that, they are decently resistant to most other magical Ways as well. 
      The animals live about 600 years on average, but they only start reproducing after 500 years. Those kept in captivity have to be freed when they are between 250 and 300 years, or they die from diseases related to emotional stress.
      Tribes that domesticated gijars must track the pregnant females and capture the newborns about seven months after birth. There is a narrow window for this capture. If the cubs are too young they will not survive without the mother, if too old they will die fight the captors. 
     In captivity the animals are never fed meat. A diet of seaweed, roots and flour made from animal bones is necessary to keep gijars treatable enough to be useful. 
     Fast and strong, capable to run or swim without rest for huge distances caring warriors and cargo, and extremely hard to kill on battle field. Those animals are precious for the Piwag tribe that takes their name. 
      The Gijar tribe is bu its own account a Piwag tribe, but a essential portion of their culture is based on their relation with the savannas between the Piwag and the Sorrowful. Not to mention the Sorrowful itself. Thanks to their mounts Gijar Hunters are the only Piwag men you are likely to find in the Ungnui Forest at South border of the Sorrowful.  
      This grants the Gijar tribe a drop or two of distrust from other human tribes. However, since Gijar men are the only ones who know how to capture and train the animals, other Piwag tribes balance their feeling of distrust with pragmatism. So they can keep buying those mounts and using the service of gijar  keepers from Gijar tribe when needed.

Basic Information

Dietary Needs and Habits

Gijars are omnivore with a strong preference for meat. They swim about as well as Earthling killing wales, but can go months without water. And they feel as comfortable running deep in Piwag Desert, where there is about no humidity in the air, as they feel swimming.  
    In the forest gijars join at night in groups of several dozens to hunt larger animals, during the day they hunt alone or in bands of about five individuals. In water they remain most the time in groups of about ten individuals. In the savanna is rare to find more than six individual hunting together, but common to find gijars hunting in pairs, and they usually join in large groups for protection during the night along with other species of animals (predators and preys ignore each other in such occasions). On the desert the animals act most the time as solitary hunters, but eventually join in two or three dozens to kill a particularly large lizard or some other attractive prey. Those lonely prizes are sick, hurt, or old animals usually, those no longer able to follow their heard.

Additional Information

Domestication

Possible but very, very hard.

Average Intelligence

Gijars are more intelligent than Earthling wolfs or dogs, but do not win that dispute by much.

Lifespan

600 years

Average Physique

Gijars are ferocious, tireless, and some have even described them as vicious. They are not intelligent enough to be evil, however.
     Unlike dogs, horses, and humans, those animals don't bend in captivity. They cannot be pampered into complaisance, nor beaten into submission. Is possible to teach them to obey simple commands well enough to be used as mounts and cargo beasts, if you know how, but that's a double 'barely': barely possible, and barely well enough. They may be cute, but they are not suitable to be pets.