Spined Feasel
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The rare Spined Feasel is a member of the mustelidae or 'weasel' family, living in densly forested areas generally to the south of Anthos, although they can be rarely spotted on and around the grounds of the Monk's monastery. The creatures are now found within the dense forests near the Druid's Grove of Athera, and occasionally spotted beneath the mountain-top fort of the Paladins of Xan. These small, skittish creatures strikingly resemble a mix between a fox, a weasel, and the porcupine, and it goes without saying that it is this resemblance from which the creature draws its name. The Spined Feasel is indeed a very unique and interesting fauna in the realm of Anthos, being one of the rarest, and the most adorable creatures in the land.
((Original lore))
Appearance
To call the Spined Feasel's appearance unique would be an understatement. A more suitable word could perhaps be 'outlandish'. It goes without saying that the creature's appearance in general is rather shocking, its head and face resembling that of a fennec fox, its body that of a common ferret or weasel, and its' quills like that of a porcupine.
On average, the Spined Feasel's fur ranges in color from deep, reddish mahogany, to a soft, pale orange. The markings that adorn their soft, short-haired coats tend to change as well, the most common markings being a line of lighter color that outlines the muzzle, eyes, and often ears, then trails down their front and colors their underbelly and the bottom of their tail. It has also been seen that they are able to have dappled, or even striped coats, the lighter markings almost always being a cream white, or simply a lighter shade of the rest of their fur. It is theorized that there is really no limit to what patterns can mark their coats, as only four have been studied up close, two of which having the 'most common' markings as shown in the illustration, the others both being different, one having stripes and the other being dappled. It has also been noted that their fur seems to lighten on the face and tail, and darken as it approaches their midsection, any patterns to be seen usually most prominent on the face and tail, fading as they work inwards.
The Spined Feasel, if it were to stand on two legs, would be approximately two feet tall, not including the tail. On all fours, they are only a little over half a foot tall (not including the height of their quills.)
Lineage and Life
It is presumed by the biologists of Anthos, that this skittish and timid creature is the result of an odd occurrence many generations back that lead to the mixed blood of the three creatures it resembles... Albeit, how this could happen baffles the biologists, but nevertheless, they see no other way that this creature could have been created. From what tests they have been able to perform on the creatures without harming them, or the scientists harming themselves, it has been discovered that they are most closely related to the weasel, being something of a distant cousin.
It has been found that the creature is remarkably long-lived, generally living to the age of thirty to, in some special cases, even forty. This long life is suspected to be something of an anomaly in the mustelidae family, aimed to give the creatures more chance to procreate, as they are quite infertile. The young of the Spined Feasel species (being those below the age of seven) are very fragile creatures, especially defenseless when it comes to defending themselves from their natural predators. Now, the reason that the young of the species are so fragile is because it takes an unusually long time for their bones to become fully developed and strong, along with the spines on their backs. They are at the most risk from the ages of zero to three, as this is the time it takes for their bones to strengthen and become strong enough for them to actually venture out of the burrows or small caves in which their species tends to reside.
Once the bones have become strong enough, the children are slightly less fragile, but still totally defenseless, as it is not until they reach the age of seven that the spines along their backs have become as rigid and strong as that of their parents'.
Due to this fragile nature, the young of the species are very mellow and calm in temperament, versus the rambunctious nature that many young fauna have. They spend most of their time sleeping, and eating. It may be worth noting that the children tend to nurse until the age of three, which works well, as it is in the mother's nature to stay at home and protect her young.
Once a member of this species has reached adulthood, they seem to, remarkably, resist the aging process for approximately twenty years, longer at times for more fortunate members of the species. This stage of adulthood is when they are at their strongest, and is by far the largest portion of their lives, which will mostly be spent foraging for their children and wives if they are male, or if they are female, searching for mates to have children with, and then staying in the burrow to take care of them. It is estimated that the average couple of this species will have three children in their lifetime, which sounds like rather little, but considering that they must take care of each child for approximately seven years, and that they may only have one pup at a time... Puts it in to perspective.
The last stage of this remarkable creature's life is that of old age, and this stage takes place generally after the age of thirty. At this age, the Spined Feasel undergoes a remarkable change in attitude. While they do begin to become more fragile, they also begin to become much more violent and less shy. They also become completely infertile. In these last few years of life, the Spined Feasel acts as a protector for any of its children, or its grand children. The elderly of the species, oddly enough, are the ones who generally accept the position of guard and protector, it is theorized that the reason for this is because they have outlived their usefulness as far as procreation goes, so the change is meant to make use of what time they have left.
At the time of death, a remarkable ceremony seems to take place. As the member of this species senses its' end has come, they will use their last few moments or hours to do their best to dig themselves a final burrow, into which they will crawl in to, so that they may die in comfort. It is common that, if the creature cannot do this on its' own, its lifemate will join in to help create the burrow. Even more remarkably, it has been shown that in some cases, the death of one Feasel's lifemate ultimately kills the remaining Spined Feasel, causing it to experience something that we would call depression, leading to starvation and eventually death.
Habitat
The Spined Feasel prefers to reside in areas that are generally shaded from the sun, like dense forests, or occasionally even swamps. They are very skittish in nature, so it is rather rare for them to live anywhere near main roads that are commonly traveled, the notable exception to this being of course the Monk's sanctuary.
The Spined Feasel tends to live in burrows that vary in their size depending on how many members of the family will be living there, sometimes even expanding far underground to create complex systems of tunnels, with many exits and entrances. These burrows are generally found at the base of trees, where the creatures are able to actually eat the roots of the tree for sustenance in a case of emergency. The species has also been known to live in small caves (small enough that no large animals could get in) and in the hollowed out remains of trees. Burrows are, however, the most common form of home.
Defenses
The Spined Feasel, whilst small and (usually) timid, has a surprisingly large array of rather dangerous weapons, the most notable of which being the spines, which contain a powerful venom that can easily kill most predators that would attack them, and can even lead to temporary paralysis in larger animals. These include humanoids, bears, and large cats. Luckily for us, however, these spines cannot be shot out like that of its' porcupine relatives.
Other than this main form of defense, the Spined Feasel also boasts very sharp, fang-like teeth. All of them, not just the canines. These also have a milder form of venom in them, and they can easily sink in to flesh.
Lastly, their claws. The Spined Feasel's claws are quite sharp, and very long. They could be compared to that of a cat, although being larger and generally stronger.
Needless to say, that beyond this creature's cute exterior, it is quite dangerous to anyone who feels an inclination to try and interact with it. Albeit, usually the creature would simply run away, if it was cornered, it would be more than capable of inflicting some real damage on anyone.
Diet
The Spined Feasel's diet consists of mostly berries, insects, roots, and fruit. They may rarely prey on smaller mammals like mice, but do so rather rarely due to their somewhat weak immune system. For the most part, berries are the main part of a Spined Feasel's diet, and it actually very much enjoys one particular berry that is incredibly deadly to us, nightlock. It is thought that it is due to their ingestion of this dangerous berry, that they are able to utilize some of its' poisonous properties to strengthen the poison in their spines.
Predators
Due to its large array of defenses, the Spined Feasel has rather few predators. The second most dangerous predator to the Spined Feasel species is the horned owl, who have managed to figure out that the best way to capture one of the poor creatures, is to flip it over, and grab it by its underbelly. They are also the only creature cunning enough to avoid eating the Feasel's stomach, which generally contains nightlock, and would be deadly, and to avoid its' poison glands. As for the Spined Feasel's number one predator? The Alchemist. Indeed, it is the Alchemist who poses the greatest danger to these innocent, adorable creatures, often capturing and killing them for their poison glands.
