Vaelith
| Vaelith | |
|---|---|
| |
| English gloss | horse (riding animal) (translation, not identification) |
| Role | Riding |
| Where found | Every city; wild stock persists on the Frontier |
| Size | About a Streid and a half (five feet) at the shoulder |
| Kept / wild | Kept and wild; native, never engineered |
| Danger | Dangerous from both ends; never approach an unfamiliar one from behind |
| Used for | Riding, cavalry, outriding |
| Associated cities | All; Eldershore exports the best |
| Lexicon | Vaelith |
The Vaelith is the riding animal of the Known World: long-legged, lean, and athletic, about five feet at the shoulder, with a short dense coat and lower legs that shade into a rough scaled texture. Its head is narrow and angular, with eyes set further forward than a browsing animal's — it watches what is coming rather than trusting to flight.
The weapons
Two swept-back bony protrusions rise from the skull above the eyes; a line of smaller bone runs down the neck, so that nothing successfully attacks a Vaelith on the back of the neck. The front hooves are hard, sharp, and pointed and cut rather than bruise; the back hooves carry curved spurs, so a kick stays dangerous even unaimed. It is dangerous from both ends and most wildlife leaves it be. An unfamiliar Vaelith must never be approached from behind; it will kick without confirming whether the thing behind it is a threat.
Temperament
Constantly scanning, quick to react, and capable of speeds nothing else in the world can match over a short distance. Cornered, it rarely flees; it turns to attack. An experienced rider reads the neck, the ears, and the change of gait that precede a danger, which makes the Vaelith a valuable partner in the wild. To an inexperienced rider it is a danger in itself, because a new rider triggers the defenses.
Coats and breeding
Wild Vaelith are uniformly dappled dark brown-gray, camouflage for broken forest light and one reason they are still alive. Domestic lines come in colors that vary by breeder and city: Eldershore favors a dark even coat, Stormharbor's are pale and heavy, and Shining Reach has a storied history of breeding coat colors for their own sake. A domestic Vaelith in the wild dapple is either recent wild blood or a breeder claiming it, and is viewed with suspicion.
Eldershore breeds for temperament and quality and exports across the world. In Shining Reach the quality of a mount is a social marker and is discussed. In Stormharbor the bond between a warrior and his Vaelith is spiritual, and one killed in battle is mourned rather than replaced. Clearhold breeds for the passes and fields one of the most capable cavalries in the world.
Wild stock
Wild Vaelith persist on the Frontier — larger, sharper, more vicious, and entirely unhandled. They are still caught and tamed at great risk, in a small trade that is considered admirable, and breeders who can claim wild blood price for it. The practice is why nine centuries of domestication have not made the animal soft.
See also
- Animals of Teraell · Cavalry · Vraech — which the dorsal ridge protects the Vaelith from, and not the rider