Wargs are dark
creatures that once served during the
War of the Chosen as messengers and steed for
orcs in the service of black mages. They have long received a bad reputation
and were slowly driven out of South Sarvonia
after the war. They appear to be just beasts of unjust creation or
magical experimentation and are viewed as the
creatures that obey all commands. They are not. This beast is a rather
intelligent creature and only follows the orders of others when the mood suits
it. Even though they served mostly as mounts and messengers, they still found a
share of battle and proved themselves able to think in difficult situations.
These fierce creatures are unlike other animals when fighting in packs or on
their own, their intelligence is slightly frightening. A main difference between
Wargs in the wild and ones brought up by orcs is
their ability to think on their own. Wargs raised by
orcs rely less on themselves for survival and more on their masters, so
their potential intelligence doesn't fully develop.
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Image description. The deadly Wargs, used as messengers and steeds during the War of the
Chosen. Picture drawn by
Sheil. |
Appearance.
Wargs are similar to typical wolves in appearance, the main exception being in
their size and snout area. The largest and most well known Warg was Vackra the
Black. She stood at 2 peds
in height and 3 peds in
length. The beast was eventually slain by a man of the barbarian Seigen tribe of
the Mynian plains in Northern Sarvonia.
Most Wargs however are an average 1.3
peds in height and 2
peds in length counting
their bristling tail. The mysterious creature is said to weigh almost a
pygge and a half. Compared
to a typical wolf a Warg's snout looks a little odd on
its face, as it seems too big for the rest of the head. It is filled with large
razor sharp teeth. At the end of the snout a pointed nose is placed - similar to
that of a rat - which gives this beast an incredible sense
of smell.
Wargs are a fairly muscular beast, larger than the largest of its so-call
cousin, the wolf, but not so bulky as to become a
hindrance. Under the masses of muscle this animal is surprisingly fleet, this is
due to its long legs and some say partly to the dark
magic that was said to create them. Wargs are
covered with medium length coarse black and gray hair. Furthermore they have
black-flecked yellow eyes that show a feral intelligence. In general females are
a little larger than the males, and tend to be more vicious if that is possible.
Their colouring also tends to lean more towards darker gray and mostly black.
The Ehebion Warg is slightly bigger and more vicious than its Prominent Mountain
dwelling counterpart. The coarse fur of this larger beast is a darker black and
its eyes more of a golden. The Ehebion Wargs are not as bulky as they are often
being attacked by hunting hounds specially breed to track this dark beast. These
Wargs will usually fight unless they are greatly outnumbered, then their slimmer
forms come into action as they escape their aggressors.
Special Abilities.
Wargs have a highly perceptive sense of smell; once it has caught its prey’s
scent it can follow it anywhere. Even if the prey crosses streams or rivers, it
cannot throw the Warg off of its trail. Wargs would follow their prey to the
ends of the land, if their endurance did not first wear down the creature.
Either by some magical means or just the
qualities of their mysterious race, Wargs have an endurance that could rival the
fleetest of its cousins. They can keep a trot for days if it is in the pursuit
of their next meal. Along with this, the Warg is highly intelligent for an
animal. It is thought that they have a language of their own, though what it may
be, only the orcs and
goblins of the Skeleton Coast know.
Territory.
Wargs were first recorded during the
War of the Chosen, whether they were the result of some
magical experiment with
wolves or whether they were around before then is unknown. During that time
though, they were used as messengers and steeds for
orcs in the service of black mages throughout the
Sarvonian continent. With the end of the
war, they were slowly driven from Southern
Sarvonia. Now they only range from the northern foothills of the Mountains
of Oro to the Eastern Peaks of the Prominent Mountains. It is also reported that
they can be found in the shadow realm of Ehebion in
Nybelmar.
Habitat/Behaviour.
Wargs prefer to live in hilly or mountainous areas, as this allows them to
better blend in with their surroundings and gives them better success in
hunting. They also reside in the swampy areas along the Skeleton Coast, as the
large decaying brush gives them ample amounts of cover. Wargs left by themselves
live in packs of ten to fifteen. Females rule the pack structure, and the
largest, most vicious female rules the entire pack.
The orcs of
North Sarvonia are the only known
beings that have tamed the Warg permanently. Over the years the relationship
between Wargs and orcs has grown. Most families
have their own personal pack of Wargs, males as the steed and females as pack
animals. The Wargs help hunting the food and the
orcs provide them with warmth and protection. The bond between an
orc and Warg is so great that be beast would
follow his master anywhere without a second thought. The only downfall of this
is that the beast's intelligence is not near as developed as the creatures of
this breed that live in the wild. They rely on the
orcs to lead them more than often for everything from warmth to survival
most of the time. Theses animals are still good war mounts but they tend to just
follow orders during battle. Wargs that have been integrated into
orcish society were forced into packs of forty
to fifty. At times the great beasts would find something to fight about in their
close conditions. This resulted in one or more of the Wargs dying within
moments, and most of the pack injured.
Mating.
The mating season for Wargs is during the fourth month of the
Santharian Calendar, the Month
of the Changing Winds. The males try to assert themselves on the females,
however being smaller and naturally less aggressive; their efforts are usually
in vain. Many a male comes away from the experience not only frustrated but
injured as well. It is the male that can bring the most prey to the female that
is allowed to impregnate her. However, after the process of mating, the female
Warg then proceeds to attack the male to reinforce her dominance. After a period
of two months, the female Wargs give birth to a litter of four to six pups.
Neither the female nor male Wargs take care of the pups after birth. Instead
they must learn to survive on their own and be a contributing member of the pack
within a short time; otherwise it is simply killed so as not to keep a useless
mouth to feed around.
Usages.
In the shadow realm of Ehebion Wargs walk the
land. Murmillion commoners often
send young boys out to hunt and eat a Warg as a rite of passing into adulthood.
And the nobility have turned Warg hunting into a sport and in time perfected the
fine cuisine from the Warg meat. The fur of a Warg might also be used in various
clothing's or interior decorations. A
Murmillion saying tells that "only the unworthy is eaten by the Warg."
According to F'ash the Archivist,
the Rhom-Oc and
Losh-Oc of the Oro and
Tandala Mountain regions make a
horrifically odourific and rubbery 'cheese' from the milch of their female
Wargs. The thought of milking a savage wolf-like creature
and consuming the result causes many to shudder, but it was a prized delicacy
among those orc tribes.
