PETS & MOUNTS

Pets that work alongside their owners are common, some pets are specialized while others play a general role. Some pets are simply companions or collectibles.

Mounts are often used for short or long distance travel rather than vehicles. (In the eastern deserts, airships and hot air balloons are more common for long distance travel rather than mounts.)  See 'creatures' to learn if a specific one is tamed/domesticated. Pet shops and similar shops are less common in villages, but can be found in towns and cities. Specialty breeders and collectors of certain creatures can also be found in larger populated cities. Black market or underground sales may also take place in megacities, where illegal trading can run rampant.  Poaching and hunting for recreational purposes is illegal in most places. Traditional hunting for food or rites of passage within a tribe or village is still common and is controlled by local elders or town elects, so as not to disrupt the natural balance.

Many regions of the planet live with tamed, domesticated or wild creatures. A wide variety of the creatures actually prefer to be alongside the 'intelligent races' and have developed a symbiotic relationship. Often creatures are provided with a reliable food source, shelter and nesting for their young, or access to their preferred crystal type.

Many species play roles like domesticated animals on Earth would. As transportation, help with agriculture, as companions, with military, service animals and so on.

One notable creature, the Blinkbird, is a species of bird that has the ability to travel vast distances using a 'blink' or 'self teleportation'. Additionally, it has an exceptional long term memory, and can almost-perfectly mimic anything it hears. They are a migratory bird that travels between the arid dry regions to the East, and the humid Southern jungle regions multiple times throughout the year. They feed on specific nectar and pollen from plants, and help keep populations of those plants healthy and wide-spread. The birds take on the appearance a bit like Earths hummingbirds, and are quite small. They have developed a relationship between the Dragonkin and Avians as a messenger. Merchants and trading businesses keep their favourite foods at their stores, and can send a specific bird to a specific store on the other side of the planet with inventory lists, barters, or other work-related information that they want shared. Though technically still a wild animal, 'the bird' may refuse its service to unloyal people who do not provide it with enough of its preferred food. 

Another notable creature relationship is the 'Blepers' and 'Bleper Shepards'.  The Blepers, are expert nectar-gatherers and pollinators which are small like guinea pigs or rabbits. Farmers and garden-enthusiasts keep medium-sized herds or groups of 3 Blepers. When 'released' into flower fields or nectar-producing plants, the Blepers collect matured flowers/plants into piles to be harvested. In the wild, these piles would be taken back to their dens for their young and stored for the season for food. Farmers also keep 1-2 'Bleper Shepards', a dog-like creature which also eats the same flowers and nectar-plants as the Blepers. In the wild, they would be competition for the same food sources. But on the farms, they are released after the farmer is satisfied with how much the Blepers have collected, they corral the Blepers back to their pen. Then the farmer will reward both species with some better quality flowers and nectar that were collected.

SEE: LOCATIONS for Pet Shops.

SEE: CREATURES for a list of all critters.