Moon Bear

Moon bears are a type of bear native to the Northeastern Threshold, though they are also kept captive in other regions across Creation. They are of medium size, with black fur and a distinctive silver-white crescent marking on their chests, the source of their name.

Among the barbarian tribes of the Northeast, the bears are often considered sacred to the Incarna Luna, honoured as such when they are hunted, but others in Creation seek the bears for different reasons: they are the best bears for obtaining Bear Bile.

The bile of a bear is a valued medicinal substance, used in medications to reduce fever & inflammation, to expel bodily parisites, and to strengthen eyesight and the liver. Bear bile is been mixed with clay in mud baths or taken directly, with some members of the Scarlet Dynasty and Threshold nobility keeping moon bears in their menageries to provide a supply.

Distribution of the Tonic of the Roaring Moon, a tincture containing bear bile, is also one of the major undertakings of the Realm's Benevolent Stewards of Health and Utility, with the aim of improving the lives and productivity of the Blessed Isle's peasants. The high demand for bile from the Stewards has resulted in the establishment of bear farming on an industrial scale, with bears kept in large numbers caged and 'tapped' (bamboo tubing left permanently in them for ease of bile extraction) both in plantations on the Blessed Isle itself and in satrapies such as Madura.

Though moon bears are best kept alive if one seeks a supply of bile, their other parts also see some use. They are fatty creatures, their fur too greasy for the finest fur garments despite its distinctive crescent (though still used widely in Madura), and while their fat has some medical uses their flesh is likewise considered inferior to some other types of bear. Still, their availability means their paws often see use on Dynastic tables preparing Palm Controls the Land (one of the Sevenfold Resplendent Dishes).