THE
FURNO
(KANAPAN
BULL) |
A large, semi-feral species of cattle that is found only in the Kanapan lands in Northern Sarvonia, the Furno or Kanapan Bulls are hardy and tough, with a heavy coat of thick fur.
Appearance.
Standing two
peds at the high, humped
shoulders and built like a brick wall, this massive bovine is no gentle
milch-cow, but unpredictable and semi-feral at best. Though the
Kanapan people do use them for milk,
meat and hides, they are not particularly domestic animals and can be very
dangerous, especially the bulls. The
Kanapan call them the Furno, which is a reference to their black bull god,
Lorfurno.
The first thing one tends to notice about these beasts is their incredible bulk.
Part of this is a false impression given by the long heavy fur, which hangs
barely two handspans from
the ground beneath the animal’s belly. However, they are quite large, weighing
between 240 to 280 hebs
each. Their fur is long, thick and almost always dark brown or black. They have
small yellow eyes with goat-slitted pupils. Both cows and
bulls have long horns, which can measure up to nearly two
fores each. These horns
grow out from the sides of their heads, with the points curving forward slightly
and make it clear why these are plains animals; they could not navigate between
trees less than a ped
apart. Their ears are nearly two
handspans long and at least
a handspan wide. They have
large, cloven hooves, which on the bulls are very sharp and often over-grown,
for the Kanapan could not trim their
hooves without serious risk to life. They are slow-moving but when at a full
gallop, can knock down and run over nearly anything in their path, from young
trees to small buildings, without slowing down. A Furno stampede, though rare,
can be one of the most dangerous and destructive natural disasters of the
peninsula. When herding them, the
Kanapan ride the big northern draught
horses, which is the safest way to do so.
Though they have immense heads, about a
fore from poll to muzzle
and at least half a fore
across the forehead, the Furno are not intelligent animals. They are stubborn,
unpredictable, and quite fierce.
Special Abilities.
The heavy coats of the Furno make it possible for them to withstand very cold
temperatures. Though the summer climate in the
Kanapan lands
is mild, the winters can be very cold, as everywhere in
Northern Sarvonia.
The Furno coat is in two layers, a thick “undercoat” of down-soft fur and a
heavy, much longer furred “overcoat” of very coarse fur that keeps the warmth
in.
Territory.
These animals are found only in the
Kanapan lands,
which are located on the Kanapan
Peninsula in
Northern Sarvonia,
to the east of the Kuglimz lands.
Habitat/Behaviour.
Furno are herd animals, and like to be in large groups of maybe twenty or more
individuals. They are generally peaceable amongst themselves except during the
mating season, when the bulls fight for the privilege of mating. These fights
are extremely violent, noisy affairs, which always begin with an impressive
display of aggression. The two bulls face off and begin bellowing loudly,
shaking their heads, waving their horns threateningly and tearing up the ground
with their sharp hooves. When the bulls finally do charge at each other, it is
an awe-inspiring sight and the crash of their horns and heads together echoes
around the plains. Often one or both bulls will be wounded, sometimes seriously,
and many die from blood loss from goring. In spite of their savagery and
aggressiveness, however, the bulls are never castrated. The
Kanapan believe this would be a dire
insult to Lorfurno and to even suggest
such a thing is considered blasphemous.
It is considered an unofficial mark of Kanapan manhood to “ride the Furno”, from
which only the physically crippled would be excused. This is technically not
allowed, but almost every
Kanapan boy over the age of 16 has
had at least one try at riding a Furno bull. Some do not survive for a second
try, but this does not deter others from the practise. The cows
are much quieter and less temperamental but for all that, they are not easy to
milk and usually they need to be tied up with the feet hobbled.
Diet.
Like most cattle, the Furno eat grass and grains of various kinds. They eat
alth'ho grass,
peat grass, hay and stalks from
harvested bredden grain - whatever is
available. Furno are most common in the northern and central areas of the
Kanapan Peninsula, where the
grasslands of Cahm’ha’dom are located.
Mating.
The mating season for these animals is early summer. The bulls get very
aggressive and pushy with each other. If kept together, they will spar and
fight. The more placid cows get livelier and a
cow in heat, instead of grazing normally, will move
around with head and tail up, as though to signal to the bulls that she is ready
to mate. Usually two or more bulls will vie for the privilege, though while they
are fighting, the object of their desire is just as likely to go off with
another bull.
Once mating is accomplished, the two will go their separate ways. If
fertilization has not occurred, the cow will go back into
heat in about a week’s time and repeat the process until either she conceives or
the heat season (covering about two months) is over. Gestation lasts about 10
months. The calves are born in early spring. They are leggy little animals with
soft fine fur, the overcoat grows in by fall and they are usually considered
mature by the following spring, as they have nearly reached adult size by then.
This quick growth is thought to be due to the incredible richness and high fat
content of their mother’s milk. Calves are allowed to nurse until the autumn,
when the Kanapan separate them for
weaning and begin milking the cows, until they are bred
again next year.
Usages.
As before mentioned, these beasts are considered sacred animals. The rich creamy
milk is used for drinking and making
Kanapan
cheese, which is reserved for the priesthood. It is said to be a mild but richly
flavourful cheese, light coloured and pitted with small holes. The animals are
allowed to die naturally and their bodies decay, thus returning complete into
the ground to join Lorfurno.
Myth/Lore.
The devout Kanapan worship the bull
god Lorfurno and they believe that the
Furno cattle are his children, given to his people for their devotion to him.
When someone is killed or seriously injured by a Furno bull or
cow, the Kanapans
believe that they have displeased their god in some way and offerings of
appeasement are made by all households in that particular community. If someone
is attacked but manages to escape unhurt, he/she is thought to be especially
favoured by Lorfurno and is celebrated
and made much of.
Information provided by
Alysse the Likely
|