Arugolaa

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The Arugolaa is a large, tortoise-like creature native to the Agras Plain. It stands just over four foot high when fully grown, with a narrow body and long legs. The Arugolaa can run nearly as fast as a horse, and was greatly favored as a steed during the Mage Wars. Entire contingents fought on Arugolaa-back. Though the animal is much shorter than a horse, it can bear more weight, and is extremely agile and easy to train, responding to commands from its rider with great speed.

Writers in the Golden Age told extensively of Arogulaa's fierceness on the battlefield, but contemporary accounts paint a picture of an animal almost criminally indifferent to its surroundings. In truth, the Arugolla can only see around five to ten feet in front of it and is nearly deaf. They gather most of the sensory data by sensing vibrations in the ground. The Arugolaa were not "fierce in combat" but likely had no idea where they were or what they were doing.

Though nearly as fast as a horse and able to carry more, Arugolaa know little of loyalty and can scarcely tell one human from another. They are easy to train, but when used as mounts or pack animals will take almost no initiative for themselves, and rely entirely on instruction.

Arugolaa are primarily used as steeds, though their small size and heavy load-bearing capacity makes them favorites for long-distance pack animals. They cannot be used as draught animals because there is little to no way to direct them. They are completely indifferent to the whip, owing to their thick shells, and will ignore commands from the reins if they are too long.

Winged Arugolaa

A flying variant of the Arugolaa was known to exist during the Mage Wars; very little is known about them. Surviving accounts speak of leathery wings and say the animal simply "leapt" into the air.

See Also