Rinopagos

The Rinopagos has been referred to some as an ‘Aquatic Rhino’. It is a creature inhabiting the seas of the far West, more common in the north than the south of its range, though particularly intense Wyld encroachments may see large numbers move eastward into safer waters.

The Rinopagos is a bulky, warm-blooded beast, with thick grey skin (strong enough to resist blows from arrows and spears). It is similar in size to a Sea Canary, though it swims slowly and lethargically, using its beak-like upper lip for grazing on plants along the sea floor, supplemented occasionally by jellyfish.

The Rinopagos has two slightly-curved horns at its nose, the forward horn far larger than the rear. These horns the creature’s primary form of defense against predators: when it feels threatened (by foes such as Siaka or Wahrks, or in the case of males competing over females, or mothers accompanied by calves and approached by nearly any other creature) it leaves its normal lethargic movements and drives itself through the water with the full power of its significant muscle mass, goring whatever it has deemed to offend it. The rinopagos is powerful enough that its horn can split smaller boats, and even pierce the hulls of larger ones, causing leaks on the lower decks.

Rinopagos horns are highly valued: some tribal shamans in the north keep secret methods for crafting them into goblets that, when filled with the salty water of the sea, will transform it into fresh drinkable water. Such goblets are highly valuable to sailors across the Western Oceans, and so rinopagos are eagerly hunted despite the danger they pose.