Arion

Arions are mana tainted breeds of horse. The original arions were descendants of herds that thrived in the Orbis Alius and its shores long enough to assimilate the mana taint and develop into separate breeds. Since they have been favored by mages for millenia, it is believed that at least some of them were first generation arions created by proximity with mages and spellcrafting rather than living in the Orbis Alius.
A common horse that has been affected by wild mana is sometimes referred to as an arion, but this is incorrect in the vast majority of cases. The occurrence of a first generation arion is not unheard of, but extremely uncommon. In this case, the horse keeps its original breed, but is also considered an arion.

Characteristics

Having been bred by mages since antiquity, arions today have separate breeds from common horses. Most breeds present the all-purpose characteristics of heavy warmbloods, with a smaller number being refined riding horses. The most common breed is the Atlantean Arion. All arions breeds share longer manes and tails than common horses and often present stigma due to the taint.

Taint Manifestation

Like most tainted beasts, arions present an elevated output of mana. They enjoy increased stamina, health, speed and also intelligence. They are very long-lived beasts, with life spans of up to two centuries in the wild and almost twice as much when domesticated and cared for. What sets arions apart from other magical beasts, however, is their peculiar ability to assimilate enchantments.
Enchancing most beings through spellcrafting is dangerous, as beasts do not enjoy as much control of their magical energies as beings and are susceptible to unpredictable side-effects. Arions, however, exhibit above average magical resilience, mitigating the dangers of being enchanted. Due to the nature of this ability, certain arions might also exhibit several variant traits inherited from distant enchanted ancestors.

Arion Breeding

Arions can produce arion offspring, which consolidates them as naturally ocurring beasts, and are suitable for domestic breeding. However, around two thirds of the species is born infertile, no doubt due to the taint, and lots of them become infertile upon being enchanted. Even if dealing with magical beings is frowned upon by certain hermetic traditionalists, all but the most radical practitioners reserve this treatment for beings and other sentient creatures, and don't extend their mistrust to beasts. This makes arion breeding a rather lucrative business, albeit a risky one.
The arion's ability to assimilate magic and enchantments is so extreme that it has unpredictable interactions during conception, making breeding arions responsibly a very delicate matter. Offspring of fertile enchanted arions might inherit trace sigils from one parent or both that, when activated by its high mana output, might generate unforeseen effects. Incidents during pregnancy might injure or kill the broodmother or the infant, while foals might manifest larger magical incidents later in life. Even more so when both parents have enchantments. The manner of inheritance depends on the enchantments the parents have but does not happen biologically. It usually happens in utero, making it more likely for the foal to inherit the mother's magical traits. For this reason, broodmares are often kept free of enchantments. For the same inheritance reasons, breeding an arion stallion with a common mare has a higher chance of producing common foals, while breeding a common stallion with an arion mare has a better chance of producing arion foals.
This has not halted reckless experimenting, with the discovery of safely inheritable magical traits being a pursuit of certain mages. This practice is outlawed by the Council not only for animal cruelty but also for its potential to hurt the Veil.

Classification: Common Beast
Rarity: Uncommon to Rare