> Somehow, I can image that those giant Galapagos land tortoises living in
> Esrolia. They'd be slow moving and placid, domesticated types, but maybe
> their nastier cousins live in the wilder uplands with the snapping turtles.
It's an Earth place, which means that they can worship some of the great
reptiles of the Godtime.
Turtle/Tortoise may be an old form of Esrola there : a protecting form.
She gave a shell to these animals to protect them.
Some cult (a Vinga subcult, a Maran or a Babeester Gor subcult maybe) may know some magic to take the shell and use it as a shield or a armour after the turtle's death. The Babeester Gor shield comes to mind. Maybe these are sacred animals, that no one would hurt and which are fed by peoples in the streets or temples.
As Children of Maran, they would be the terrible Giant Turtles, ten meters high monsters that roamed the land between Caladraland and Kero Fin. They don't exist anymore in the Mortal World, but their grandchildren still live in the grazelands or the wild places in Esrolia. Maybe some are intelligent and know some Maran Magic (Stone Shell, Shake the Ground, Burrow, Petrifying Look). Some of the bigger boulders may be petrified Stone Tortoises that will wake up some day.
Some decadent Lunars or Nolosites may think that grounded shell gives some longevity and there'd be a lucrative (if dangerous) trade to be made.
I suppose they cannot become cavalery (er, turtlery ?), but some more active or dangerous-looking reptiles could.
(hmm, an Esrolian unit on Komodo varans...)
Philippe
Powered by hypermail