Emerald Monkey

Source: Adapted from Compass of Celestial Directions: East pp.155

The Emerald Monkey is a species of small monkey found in the coniferous forests of the Northeastern Threshold. They are covered in green fur, from which comes their name, a lighter fringe surrounding a face that is dark green or almost black. They have very long prehensile tails, stretching out to twice their body length. Males tend to be larger than females, but females have longer tails. They are able to climb quickly and maintain balance as they move along and between trees, their small size allowing them to reach areas higher or more precarious than most forest denizens.

Emerald Monkeys feed primarily on berries and nuts, such as pine nuts and elderberries, as well as flowers, leaves, pine needles, twigs, and occasionally insects. Emerald Monkeys will also raid the nests of birds, particularly Diving Herons, in search of eggs.

Emerald Monkeys face a number of predators, including Great Owls, Tree Pards, Hatra,and Forest Baboons. Humans also hunt the monkeys, with the Linowan and many barbarian tribes considering their brains a particular delicacy. They have a complex language of warning calls to announce predators, which specify a particular threat: this has been exploited by the Haltan Republic, which trains the monkeys not only as agricultural harvesters but also as sentries to alert of approaching raiders. Breeding and training has produced some monkeys intelligent enough to be considered san-beasts, though these tend only to be found amongst the domesticated stock in Halta, and ata-beast Emerald Monkeys are all but unknown.

Even when not san-beasts, Emerald Monkeys can often be curious and enterprising, plaguing travellers by descending to search through their belongings for food.