Loxodon (LOCK-so-dawn)

Loxodon are known most for their intimidating size, with the largest rivaling even the most infamously large humanoids, the Firbolg. The average height of an adult is usually around 7-8 feet tall and weigh around 400-500lbs, but the strongest warriors among them can reach extremes of nearly 13 feet tall and can weigh as much as a ton.     Physically they resemble extremely heavyset humans, bulging powerful muscles concealed under several inches of thick fat to protect against the bitter cold of their homeland. Their entire body is covered in thick brown or grey fur that further shields them from the cold. The most striking feature of a loxodon however, is their head. Rather than a normal human's head, they have the head of a mammoth.  A long, powerful trunk long enough to nearly touch the ground whilst standing upright is flanked by two enormous tusks of ivory that curve upwards. The longest tusks reach nearly to a loxodon's navel before curling upwards. These tusks, along with the loxodon's powerful neck and core muscles allow them to push extremely heavy weights as well as make for formidable natural weapons. These tusks are often adorned with stone jewellery or carved with intricate patterns, and grow throughout a loxodon's life. Overly long and elaborate tusks are seen as signs of laziness in loxodon culture. Female loxodon grow tusks as well, but at a shorter rate than the male's.

Loxodons reproduce much in the same way humans do, but over a much longer period. A female loxodon only ovulates once every 3 months, with a gestation period of slightly longer than a year. Loxodons only give birth to one child at a time, with twins being extraordinarily rare.

Newborn loxodons are entirely helpless and develop slowly, only exiting what humans would call the 'toddler' stage at around 10 years old. A new born is less than a foot tall. By the time they are 10, they will be around 5 feet tall. They then slowly grow and put on weight until about the age of 60, at which time they are coinsidered a full adult. By then the loxodon will have sported a pair of usable tusks, which have been steadily growing in since around their 20th birthday, when adolescence is considered to begin. A healthy loxodon will live to be around 450 years old.

Despite their fearsome appearance, most loxodons are gentle in nature, and are incapable of eating meat, relying on a diet of vegetation, cheese, yoghurt, and other dairy products.   The vegetation aspect is taken care of by shamans, respected members of loxodon tribes that have a way of communing with the spirits that can be seen dancing in the skies above their homeland. These shamans use the magic provided by these spirits to create fields of all kinds of vegetables that would otherwise succumb to the cold. Over time, the soil that provides these vegetables becomes barren, and must be left alone before it can grow anything again. When this happens, loxodons make a trek to another spot in the island, cycling through 3 or 4 specific locations in a tradition that goes back generations. Grapes are also grown for the creation of wine.   As for the dairy, each loxodon tribe tends to a small herd of woolly mammoths, gargantuan hairy elephants that physically resemble quadrapedal loxodons. These mammoths are treated in similar fashion to a farmer and their cows. The are regularly milked, and this mammoth milk is used for various purposes, including creating cheeses, yoghurts and butter, as well as drinks such as whey or buttermilk. Each loxodn tribe has their own unique takes on the creation of these foodstuffs, and it is said that one can identify a loxodn family by the cheese they make. Despite their 'primitive' culture, the loxodon diet is one that any cheese and wine connossieur would imagine in their wildest dreams.

Loxodon live and operate as tribes of between 10 and 20 individuals. These tribes consist of multiple family lineages, and are lead by the oldest and strongest males. In larger tribes, 2 or 3 elder males will share leadership roles, dividing labour between the others, training children, leading treks to the next farmland, and being the first to leap to battle to defend the tribe from the many threats. The constant exercise and combat required to keep a tribe safe means that Leader loxodon grow to huge sizes, becoming almost as large as the mammoths they tend to. Non-leader males take up roles such as guards and farmhands, tending to the feilds of vegetation, as well as building and maintaining shelters. Some males will opt to travel alone and find a new tribe.   The traditional role of a female loxodon is that of the shepherd. Women loxodon are entrusted with tending to the tribe's mammoth herd, milking them, creating dairy products, herding them, assisting with births, and when the time comes, slaughters an old, weak or sick mammoth and prepares the corpse to be turned into useful items, such a leather, bone and ivory for houses and weapons, and fur for clothes. A typical female loxodon doesn't spend much time raising her children, instead entrusting that duty to the elders. Ones parents in particular don't matter to a mammoth, the tribe is their family.   As a loxodon enters their 4th century, they step down from their previous roles and adopt the role of Esteemed Elder. Loxodon with this status are essentially retired, no longer asked or required to take part in labour unless in times of emergency. Esteemed Elders form a sort of council, there to advise new Leaders and provide wisdom where required, as well as raise the youngest children whilst their parents are busy performing all the necessary labour. They also select a new Leader when one steps down or is killed. Once a loxodon reaches this age, the negative associations with long tusks are instead treated as a badge of tribal honour. A flourishing tribe has no need to force its elders to work, and so in a flourishing tribe, elders will have tusks that reach all the way to their knees and curling up higher than the tops of their heads. These tusks are so huge that they are too heavy to be used as tools or for combat, and in fact often greatyl impare the mobility of an elder. This isn't considered an issue however, as Elders are valued for their mind, not their body.   Every tribe of loxodon has one member who is revered and respected above even the Leaders and Esteemed Elders is the Shaman. Shaman are easy to spot among a tribe, as they are young, but typically have extremely large, very decorated tusks similar to the Elders. Just like the Elders, a tribe is considered successful if their Shaman doesn't need to work or fight. Shaman are loxodons that are able to hear the 'voice' of the nature spirits that the loxodon worship, and are able to exert some control over the natural world around them as a result. This talent is only present in around 10% of newborn loxodons, and cannot be taught if not already present. One of the Shaman's roles is in fact to test each newborn loxodon and choose one to be his or her successor upon the Shaman's death. The test usually consists of leaving a baby in the snow for an hour before it is able to walk. If by the end of an hour, the baby is curled up and shivering, they are quickly taken in and warmed up, but are deemed to not have the gift. A loxodon baby with the talent will instead be perfectly comfortable in the cold. Sometimes the ground around them will have turned unaturally warm, or a plant will have appeared out of nowhere to serve as a blanket, or a she wolf will be providing the baby heat. Once a child with the appropriate talents is found, they will be taken in as an apprentice to the Shaman, and the two will almost never be seperated, acting more like a tradition parent/child duo than most loxodon children and their parents.   A Shaman's other and most important duty is to encourage growth. A Shaman will beseech the nature spirits to bless the areaa the tribe is staying in. If successful, the ground will always bear impressive crops, regardless of weather. Sometimes growing clean through several inches of snow, defying all logic. If the magic does not work and the ground remains barren, then it is the Shaman's job to guide the tribe to a new location and try again. Shamans are so revered simply becayse without a Shaman, a loxodon tribe will quickly starve to death.

The long, prehensile nature of a loxodon's trunk does more than simply allow them to manipulate small objects. It is an extremely sensitive organ, granting a loxodon an acute sense of smell on par with that of dogs or pigs. This makes up for the below average eyesight of the loxodon.

Loxodon society has yet to discover any kind of metallurgy whatsoever, leaving their level of technology rather primitive. Most tools are made with bone, ivory, stone and wood. Weapons are little more than large simple spears and handaxes, and homesteads are little more than lean tos, tents, and caves. Fur and leather clothing are worn for warmth, but loxodon have little need for armour due to the thickness of their fur and blubber.   To ofset the primitive nature of their tools, many loxodon take to runecarving. Runecarving is a skill taken from their neighbours, the giants, and grants magical properties to objects and creatures by scribing the runes of the Ancient Language upon them. Using runes, loxodon can turn bone temporarily as hard as steel, have it maniplate the elements, or on themselves to grow to even larger sizes rivalling that of giants. Some loxodon make the mastery of runecarving their whole life, becoming rune knight fighters or forge adept artificers (using wisdom in place of intelligence).