Satyr
GUTS AND GEARS — THE BEASTS AND MACHINES OF THE IRON KINGDOMS
In many ways they are superior to us. Wild, free, and strong, these children of the horn embrace their nature without fear, regret, or second thought.
– Kaya the Wildborne
The satyrs of western Immoren are unknown to most humans, a somewhat surprising fact given that they are massive bipedal goat-men. They can be found across the continent inhabiting remote mountain peaks and alpine forests. Their obscurity to most of mankind stems from the inaccessibility of their preferred habitats and the aggression with which they defend their territories. Furthermore, the druids of the Circle Orboros have steadfastly hidden the species from human interference. Druids prize satyrs as among their most versatile, loyal, and powerful beasts of war, and they have spent centuries refining these creatures through selective breeding to suit their needs.
The origin of the species is lost to time, but satyrs are a naturally occurring race, not the result of arcane experimentation or other occult phenomenon. Despite their reclusive nature, satyrs are an extensively distributed species and can be found within every major mountain range in western Immoren. Highly adaptable, the species includes a number of subspecies that have developed to deal with the unique climactic challenges of the various regions they inhabit.
All satyrs share the basic characteristics of a huge bipedal body with a vaguely humanlike upper torso, extraordinary muscular strength, and the lower legs and head of a goat. The thickness and color of a satyr’s fur depend largely on the environment its breed populates. The males typically have much larger horns than the females. The shape and color of satyr horns vary markedly between subspecies and are thus one of the primary means to identify and describe them. The most commonly encountered Gnarlhorn satyrs are easily distinguished from their Shadowhorn cousins by both the shape of their horns and their differing fur colors. The two types are closely related and can interbreed when geography does not naturally separate them.
Satyr subspecies have been further differentiated by the manipulations of the blackclad druids. The Circle Orboros has painstakingly introduced groups of satyrs to specific regions to create breeds tailored to their needs. They foster bloodlines for size and aggression as well as the species’ natural intelligence and protective instincts. These qualities make satyrs excellent living complements to the Circle’s wold guardians. The satyrs are largely unaware of the Circle’s agenda and view the druids with whom they interact like revered elders of their herds, obeying them without hesitation in most instances.
Satyrs are technically omnivores but rely heavily on woody shrubs, leaves, fruits, and grasses for nutrition. While the bulk of their diet is vegetation, they are opportunistic eaters and supplement their diet with occasional small animals. In desperate winters, they will resort to hunting deer or other larger prey and have even attacked and devoured the human inhabitants of isolated mountain villages or homesteads.
Due to the enormous amount of plant matter that a herd of satyrs must consume, they roam large territories within their region. A single herd may range across several mountain peaks over the course of a year as its members deplete each area of their preferred vegetation and move on, allowing grazed areas to regrow. In geographical regions with sparse flora, satyrs must hunt more aggressively.
The nomadic, migratory satyrs have never built permanent structures or experimented with agriculture despite their intelligent and inquisitive natures. They occasionally construct crude lean-to shelters to endure extremely adverse weather better but generally prefer simply to huddle as a herd under rock outcroppings, within a grove of trees, or within the natural shelter of caves when available. Likewise, satyr herds have no specific leaders. In the rare instances when they must decide a course of action, the elders of a herd are looked to for direction.
Life within satyr herds is closely attuned to the cycle of seasons. The herd moves from one food-rich area to another throughout the year. Their migration is interrupted only by the mating season in the autumn and the birthing season the following spring. When the mountain air turns colder and the trees begin to change hues, the high valleys echo with the crash of satyr horns as males of the herd vie with each other for the opportunity to mate with the females. At spring’s arrival, the pregnant females give birth to one or two kids, and the males become extremely protective. Even trolls will avoid the tempers of a satyr herd guarding new young. The kids mature rapidly, becoming ready to follow the herd within a month and reaching adulthood in less than three years.
Although the satyrs can express a variety of emotional states and alerts through a wide range of utterances, their competition for mating rights is entirely physical. The males square off in clearings or atop cliffs, snorting and tossing their heads while the females look on. Sometimes a male who is obviously outclassed by a larger satyr will concede, but most of these confrontations conclude in violent though rarely lethal conflict. The two males charge each other to slam their huge horns together with an impact so great that typically both combatants are knocked off their feet. They will repeat this clash until one of the pair can no longer stand and forfeits his claim to mate.
Despite the incredible force with which the males collide, they rarely sustain serious injury thanks to their extremely tough skulls. The greatest danger comes from the great heights at which these duels take place. On occasion, a male will be knocked to his death from a steep cliff face.
Druids regularly observe the herds during mating season, decide which particular satyrs should breed and then subtly work to ensure those individuals pair. This guarantees that the traits the Circle find most desirable are propagated within a herd. Certain druid beast shaping masters pride themselves on their skill in this area, slowly evolving individual breeds of the species to suit different needs. While each subtype varies, all satyrs are bred to encourage loyalty and protectiveness toward their kin, as these traits are easily adapted to make the satyrs ideal bodyguards for the druids. This tendency is most noted in the Gnarlhorn breed, but it can be found in others as well.
Centuries of controlled breeding has occasionally had unexpected effects, not always to the benefit of the satyrs. Occasionally Gnarlhorns selected
for strength and size have suffered from particular illnesses that lowered their life expectancy. Other breeds have developed certain personality quirks, physical defects, or behavioral abnormalities. Augmented battle performance may make such deficiencies an acceptable compromise.
For thousands of years, the satyrs have worshipped a nameless fertility goddess. They express their primitive religious beliefs through crude mud statuettes in the shape of a pregnant satyr. Satyrs most often craft these fetishes several days prior to giving birth or while burying their dead in rock cairns. During both birth celebrations and mourning, satyrs repeat a word-sound that can be transcribed as “Nannya,” which may be their name for their goddess. The representation of the satyr goddess is not dissimilar from how ogrun, trollkin, and goblins depict Dhunia.
Civilized man has long associated most beasts of the forests with the Devourer Wurm. The fierce, bestial satyrs roamed farther from the mountain peaks in those days, and their territorial nature brought them into conflict with rural villages and farms. The deadly curved horns, powerful fists, and fierce demeanor of the satyrs led them to be distrusted with superstitious intensity wherever they were encountered. It took the Menite priest kings little effort to incite their people to hunt satyrs in the Warlord and Thousand Cities eras. Despite the gory casualties the harried creatures inflicted on their hunters, the humans succeeded in exterminating their prey from the lowlands of western Immoren. The species might have been hunted to extinction if not for the efforts of the druids of the Circle Orboros.
As satyrs narrowed their ranges to the higher mountains and forests, the omnipotents of the Circle entrusted a number of overseers among the Beast Shaper discipline to protect areas newly inhabited by satyr herds. The humans of the towns and cities traveled farther into the wilderness in pursuit of the satyrs. Soon the human hunters increasingly failed to return from their hunts, victims of the blackclads and their powerful magic. More often the elusive prey simply could not be found.
Druids spent generations subtly dissuading humans and other trespassers from venturing anywhere near the satyrs’ chosen ranges. This created the appearance that the creatures were scarcer than they actually were. In time, the goat-men faded from human awareness. Woodsmen and adventurers occasionally stumbled upon a lone satyr, but generally inhabitants of the cities and villages believed satyrs were entirely extinct — if they considered them at all.
The druids continued their protection of the herds and kept a close relationship with their wards. Potents and other druids periodically selected the most powerful or intelligent satyrs as bodyguards but limited their involvement with the rest of a given herd to long-term husbandry. In the distant past, satyr populations that grew too large or threatened to draw the attention of humans were nudged by the druids into a more remote region. In the rare cases extreme measures became necessary, the blackclads introduced predators like trolls or mawgs to cull the herds.
In recent years, the demand for the use of satyrs in battle has increased as druids have committed themselves to larger battles abroad. Druids or those directly serving them will fashion light armor for their horned allies and have even experimented with arming them. Most satyrs quickly lose interest in such tools, though, discarding them on the battlefield in favor of the raw, concussive force of their own horns and bodies.
The druids may have pragmatic reasons for fostering their relationship with this species, but they also recognize that satyrs are too useful and versatile to be employed as simple fodder. Thanks to centuries of Circle involvement with them, the satyrs view the druids and their allies as extended members of their herds. This belief, combined with the protective nature bred into them over many generations, goads the satyrs to fury against any they come to know who threaten the druids.
Some breeds, such as the Shadowhorns, relish the opportunity to use their frightening strength against any opponent, but even those especially delight in battering their ancient enemies, the armies of humankind. While civilized man has forgotten the satyrs, upcoming battles will remind them of the crushing power of these goat-faced beasts and give them fresh reasons to fear the wrath of the blackclad druids who bring them to war.
Iceblade River Sect
Far to the north in the wilds of the Khadoran mountains is a small gathered fighting force of the Circle Orboros that has seen recent battles against the Legion of Everblight. This group holds territories along the Iceblade River north of the Malgur Forest, and includes several tribes of Tharn. Their efforts are coordinated by a segment of druids local to the region who have also taken measures to foster several local herds of hardy Gnarlhorn Satyrs and they protect several vital sacred sites in the region.
Fonte: No Quarter 27
