Badass Bookworm
Horned Ghoush
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Making the animal inspiration for these two machine inspirations. Also to expand on a vital animal for Tygara. It's essentially an ox crossed with a rhino and a giraffe; an interesting mental image to be sure!
- Image Credit: Here. Image is not quite true to my mental image, but close.
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Tygara , Vashyada , Qadiri, Khaimari , Lands and Features of Tygara, Spine Tree, Yazgid, Arkas,
- Name: Horned Ghoush
- Designation: Non-sentient
- Origins: Tygara
- Average Lifespan: In the wild, 20-25 years. In captivity, 30-35 years.
- Estimated Population: Planetary. Found on the plains, scrublands and light forests of Zhukathis and Khajwar. A smaller relative can be found on Ajustra. It is very much of least concern from a viability perspective
- Description: The Ghoush is a large, ponderous herbivore of considerable weight and heft. It has four solid legs and a shortish tail to support itself. Rough skin and fur cover it, with the underside being a cream tending to brown colour, and the upperside being a red tending to maroon with age. The Ghoush has a long neck which allows it to reach leaves on higher branches. The creature gets its name from a crown of horns on the top of its head. These are used for defence but also to fight each other for breeding partners. The Ghoush's loud bellows are a common feature in the farms and plains of Tygara.
- Breathes: Type 1
- Average Height of Adults: 2.8m toes to top of the head with neck extended. 2.1m from toes to shoulder.
- Average Length of Adults: 3m for average adult males.
- Skin color: Brown and red. Colours start off relatively brighter and over time become darker until a mature adult has very dark colouration.
- Hair color: Short, rough and wiry fur grows from the skin over all the body.
- Distinctions: The main domesticated versions tend to be fatter, more docile and more singular than their wild cousins. The wild variants tend to operate more in herds and be more prone to squabbling with each other for mates. The farmed types, as they are separated and breeding is controlled, are therefore less likely to encounter challenging males.
Smaller sub-species on Ajustra are smaller and operate in smaller groups. As they have different predators, the Ghoush spread out more among the woodlands and subsist more on grass, shrubs and berries, thus do not require as long necks. Indeed, shorter necks for their body size are better to avoid getting tangled in dense undergrowth. - Races: Ajustra has smaller variants more adapted for the close forest and colder temperatures.
- Force Sensitivity: Non-sensitive.
- Tough. The Ghoush is a tough beast, and can endure considerable punishment, and go for quite long periods without food.
- Tasty. The Qadiri use Ghoush for many things, but meat is one of the most common. A single Ghoush can feed a family for a week, and many of the cuisines of the Qadiri are based on this animal and Spine Tree fruit.
- Beasts of Burden. The Ghoush is strong and is great at hauling, carrying and dragging items. It can be used to ride, but its slow speed and tendency to panic makes it impossible as a mount.
- Widespread. Whether farmed or free ranging, the Ghoush is extensively found across most of Tygara. Some have even been settled on Arkas where they have become useful animals.
- Dim. Even among the pantheon of herbivores, the Ghoush is exceptionally stupid. It exhibits no cunning or ability to learn behaviours or tricks. It can be trained to carry riders, haul wagons or artillery, but that's it.
- Vulnerable to Weapons. Modern, or even the antiquated Tygaran, weapons can pierce the tough hide of the Ghoush. A blaster will generally take several shots to bring down the beast, but the Ghoush is a big target. A single swipe of a lightsabre or vibro blade can cut its lock neck off.
- Easily Startled. The Ghoush is quite placid, but can be spooked and set into a panic by loud noises, fire, being hurt, unknown Ghoush, known Ghoush, and many other things. This makes it terrible to use in a combat situation as they will often stampede away from the noise and flames.
- Slow. Ghoush are slow, ponderous beasts. Though they can move up to 20km/h for very short bursts their usual gait is slow but steady, about the speed of a Qadiri walking. They are not useful for anyone wanting a quick journey!
- Diet: Herbivore. Prefers leaves, fruits, roots and berries.
- Communication: The Ghoush communicates verbally through a series of bellows, lowing and grunting. These signify their general mood, with loud bellows being reserved for danger or the animal being frightened whilst lower toned grunting for mating requests. When engaged in a battle with rivals the male will often utter a series of short growling barks accompanied by stamping and flashing its horns at rivals.
Body language is also used, with males especially making themselves look bigger by rearing up on their hind legs and stamping. If feeling threatened a Ghoush will bellow and lower its head to present its horns at the threat. - Technology level: N/A
- Religion/Beliefs: N/A
- General behaviour: The Ghoush is a herd animal, and has changed little from being domesticated, to its wilder cousins. Generally, they move in large herds of up to thirty, with the alpha male, females, less males and young all moving together. Outcast males form in groups from where they wait their chance to challenge each other and the alpha.
Generally, the Ghoush is quite placid and is happy to bear weight and pull loads for extended periods. If startled or hurt though it is liable to panic and run amok. A key part of why they are so reliable though is that they will let themselves be led to the slaughter so long as they do not hear or smell others being butchered.
Young Ghoush stay close to the herd, communally guided by the females who usually shepherd them along. Mortality is high among wild Ghoush as the young are the targets of Yazgid and other predators. This is exacerbated by the strategies of the Yazgid which cause a panic amongst the herd, causing the calves to be left behind and picked off.
Ghoush when seeking a mate will try to impress them with a display to ward off other challengers. This 'dance' is somewhat comical to look out from outsiders as the prospective male attempts to be nimble when he is clearly not.
One important behaviour the Ghoush does is when it comes to feeding on the Spine Tree. The protective dome of spines and branches is dashed aside by the Ghoush' horns, smashing a hole in this curtain so it can feed on the fruits within. Crucially this also opens the way for smaller animals to enter and spread the seeds too.
Tygara is home to many creatures great and small, however few have had the influence on the people living there that the Horned Ghoush has. On the surface, the Ghoush is not exceptionally interesting. It is a standard herd herbivore with some unusual features, but little about it is exceptional in its own right.
However, at some point in the past 20,000 years the Qadiri domesticated some of the beasts, but they were so widespread that most remained wild. It is not known when this happened, but by the time of the first Qadiri records and states around 5,000 years ago, the Ghoush was domesticated and an important part of their lifestyle. Ghoush meat formed and still forms a vital part of the Qadiri diet. Ghoush also help in agriculture, as military haulers, objects of barter and (slow) travelling mounts. Further, the milk, hides, horns and bones of the animal are used and prized.
Ghoush meat has a strong taste, but is surprisingly lean considering the size of the animal. Its size allows a single slaughtered animal to feed a family for a month sparingly. Indeed, methods of preserving the meat by salting, smoking or sealing date back to the very beginning of written records. The milk is a more…acquired taste, and is generally made into cheeses or other products rather than drunk normally. One of the most quintessential dishes made by the Qadiri of Zhukathis is the 'Aswaran's Stew' after a class of knights, as only they and nobility could afford it. This meal is a thick stew of Ghoush cheese and meet with Spine Tree fruit, with spices and other vegetables. The result is a very filling and very tasty meal which has spread to the other cultures of Tygara and beyond.
Due to their ubiquity, it's unsurprising that the Ghoush have a cultural and religious place. It is said the goddess Kashara gave her people the Ghoush to be her gift to the Qadiri. Most temples in large cities sacrifice Ghoush on a holy day on the summer solstice and the meat is gifted to the believers as part of a holy barbeque, and a good time is had by all! Sometimes this festival can become overcome by competition and rivalry as nobles and indeed cities and empires vie with each other to provide the most generous festivals. In one particularly excessive year the cities of Krolis and Zeheb competed to slaughter the most Ghoush, with Zeheb winning by 718 to 700. Both cities were so filled with meat and the smell of the offal that citizens were often sick and the temples of Kashara stank for weeks. Thankfully, such competitions are not common.
In the wild, and even sometimes in captivity, the Ghoush's greatest threat is the Yazgid. These reptilian hunters work in packs, attacking and picking off the young and sick Ghoush. As a result of this, those keeping both animals together is not recommended, which can make military operations which rely on both more complicated!
The main food of the Ghoush is grass, leaves, fruits and roots. Over millions of years, they have adapted to eat the often-thorny flora of their home environments. Their mouths and tongues secrete a thick saliva which allows them to eat these plants easier than other animals. Their favourite food is the Emerald Spine Tree's fruits, which it will smash through the spiky plant to get, later spreading its seeds.
The Ghoush is common across all the plains, shrublands, savanna and light jungles of Tygara, with a population on the continent of Ajustra of a smaller size. These creatures tend to mature around age five, then seeking out mates. Gestation period is around a year, after which a calf is born. The young calves are ready to move within a couple of hours of birth, but rely on the protection of the adults until adulthood.
The Ghoush has seen great use in war as a beast of burden for the Qadiri. Indeed, some were even taken back to the Underealm by the Xio to haul loads around their twilight realm. Everyone who uses them though has learned long ago against bringing Ghoush anywhere near battle. The sudden noises, flames and contact with Yazgid riders tends to make them panic and run amok. Thus they are kept in the baggage train far from danger.
Grand stories and impressive tales are rare with these beasts, but there was one story of note from centuries past. In this story, the Mirza of Kashanara Mawada, was defending her realm from Amikarese aggression. Faced by a vast army of enemies with a small force of her own, she laid a somewhat cruel trap for her enemies. Moving all the Ghoush from her baggage train and from local farms to the front of her line before dawn she gathered them in a corral in the centre of her line. Then, when the army of Amikaron advanced she ordered raging fires to be lit to the corral, and to fire slings and arrows at the Ghoush. Panicked and enraged, the hundreds of animals stampeded out the only safe direction; directly into the Amikarese army! What's worse, the Yazgid cavalry of Amikaron turned and out of control chased their prey, making the Ghoush even more panicked! The whole mess completely disrupted and trampled the Shahbanu's army, allowing Mawada to launch her own devastating charge and rout her enemies. The Shahbanu of Amikaron barely escaped with her life and was nearly trampled by a terrified Ghoush! In the peace that followed, the Mirza demanded recompense for her livestock killed and served a great banquet of Ghoush meat at the peace talks; the Shahbanu had no option but to accept in fuming silence!
Firemane's arrival on Tygara saw the company attempt to make use of the planet's resources. Ghoush meat became just another commodity to trade with the galaxy, and many ranchers found themselves visited by procurement agents. At first the deals and prices were good, and many signed deals to provide livestock. However, over time Firemane demanded more and more for less and less until many farmers tried to stop selling to them. At that point, Firemane unleashed one of its most feared weapons; lawyers. Using the contracts and threats of force, many farmers were forced to provide stock at base levels to even keep going. Naturally this caused great resentment.
Recently, the Ghoush have been used with great effect as pack animals for rebels against Firemane's tyranny, as they are easier to maintain than engines and blend in with their rocky homes from above. Attempts by Firemane to confiscate or shoot herds belonging to 'terrorists' only inflamed tensions and led to further discontent. When Firemane was eventually defeated and driven from Tygara, the Ghoush herds of the regions affected by war started to grow again. The cycle of life continued.
