Bearer Beast

The Bearer Beast is a large heavy four-legged mammal with thick reddish skin, thick legs that end in three toed feet with short claws.  Their large heads have a beak and several distinctive sets of horns.  The Beast lacks any sort of tail

Bearer Beasts are herbivores, eating mainly grasses.  Their metabolism is such that while they will graze for hours if feed is available, they can go nearly a week without feeding.

Bearer Beasts can congregate together in small herds, usually around the most dominant female.  Their general nature is peaceful.  Bearer Beasts, having been magically created, have no natural predators.  When confronted by a predator, the Beast will generally crouch down and swing its head back and forth, attempting to strike its attacker with one of its horns.

Bearer Beasts are used to transport heavy loads from place to place.  Their greatest asset is their strength; there seems to be no amount of weight they cannot carry or pull, all the while maintaining their same languid pace. Beasts are slow moving animals, as they neither trot nor run.  Caravans will sometimes refuse to permit Beasts in their train, based on how slow they move compared to horses or oxen.  Among teamsters and wagoners, there is a saying, "If you want to get your goods there fast, hire a team of horses.  If you want to get all of your goods in one trip, hire a Beast."   While farmers have attempted to use them in farming, their poor eyesight coupled with an inability to turn in tight circles, makes them less than ideal for the task of plowing fields.

Whle there might be pockets of wild Beasts, the vast majority of Bearer Beasts are born domesticated. Their adaptability makes them suitable to most climates, and as such, they can be found in most parts of the Lands of Legend.

Bearer Beasts display animal intelligence.  They can learn simple voice commands and have been known to recognize familiar voices.

Bearer Beasts have notoriously bad eyesight, and rely instead on hearing and smell as their primary senses.

The Bearer Beast was originally created during the Second Age by a powerful archmage who felt that the beasts of burden then-available were not strong enough.  Historians believe that he created Bearer Beasts specifically to pull his wheeled palace.  Scattered documentsrecord that the original name for the Beasts was a Vulture Ox.  However, the slang term "Bearer Beast" was the one that stuck and the original name has fallen out of use.   While there have been attempts to use Bearer Beasts as cavalry mounts, their slow speed and tranquil nature made them unsuitable for combat.  Over time, Beasts became the staple beasts of burden throughout the Lands of Legend.