Rare Mount Types

• Intro
  Rare Mounts

  Over the years, there have always been stories and rumors about Wild, untamed mounts from unknown origins. Stories that were told to children as great myths and fables. Yet recently it seems those fables have been becoming reality. Reports of 'Invasive species' from other regions of the known world have been seen flying and swimming through Prythian and the Mortal realm. These sightings are extremely rare and to tame such a beast takes a certain ability to beast handle, a little charisma and let's face it - a lot of luck...

  Current types of Mounts available: Wyverns, Griffins, Dreadwings and Water kelpies.

  Rare Mounts: Requirements

  • The Stat Bar Requirements You must have a 'Naturalist' stat bar of 75 and a Charisma stat bar of 40 to be eligible to buy a mount.
  • The Store Purchase Each Mount costs a different amount of credits to buy. At the lowest range (because their limited to in water use) a Water Kelpie costs 200 credits. At the higher ranges, a Griffin & Dreadwings costs 300 credits and a Wyvern costs 350 credits.
  • The Profile Input In your characters profile there is a field called 'Rare Mounts' and you will be required to fill this in describing the looks of your Mount including its own personal size in comparison to the species 'average' found throughout the tabs on this page. A short story about how you came to claim your mount IC should also be included in this description.

  Rare Mounts: Rule

  • Mount Max Cap Max of 6 mounts per MEMBER total, no matter how many characters you have.
  • Wyvern Limitations A player may only have four Wyvern of their six allowed mounts.
  • Losing a Character/Archiving a Character If you lose a character to AC or choose to Archive them, there is no transferring that mount to another character. Mounts are character specific to ensure necessary terms and requirements to have a mount are met. You cannot transfer. We DO NOT refund for mounts if you loose or archive your character. So be sure and keep the character active enough to meet AC if you don't want to lose your mount.
  • One Commanding Rider Per Mount Only one Character can be the mounts bonded Rider and the only person able to truly command it.
  • Human Riders Yes, a human CAN have a mount if they meet ALL the criteria and have enough credits to make necessary purchases ect.
  • Living Conditions Mounts are considered rare and when playing with one IC you should CAREFULLy consider where your mount will live. A Wyvern is too big to likely live in a village/town with a character and will have to inhabit wild, open regions near their rider. A Griffin is able to be stabled but would need specialized stables large enough to fit its height and span of wings. Water Kelpies require staying in the water.
  • Receiving a Mount as a Prize/Award If you win any kind of Mount in some sort of event or are given it as a reward for participation in something, the requirements for claiming it do no apply so long as you do not already have 3 mounts. You cannot go above the total cap for mounts even as a prize.
  • In Play Considerations Please note, that just because you have a flying mount does not mean you have access to everywhere and anywhere. Every court has their own bordering patrols and magical wards. (IE the floating Isles of Pria are heavily fortified with soliders and magical wards to none Peregryns). These protections and magical barriers should be taken into consideration while moving your mount anywhere.
  • IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please keep in mind that more mount types may come out through plots and development but limits MAY NOT CHANGE. SO PLAN WISELY.
• Wyvern
  Wyvern

  In our world of ACOTAR, we have adapted the Draconic species known as Wyvern to be one of our tameable mount types. Below is some information regarding the biology and make-up of Wyverns as they're played on our forum.

  Our Wyverns are born with 2 Wings in the place of their 'arms' and 2 hind legs to stand upon. Their average length ranges between 30 to 50 feet at the largest (A little longer than the length of a typical full sized school bus for reference). One third to half of this length is attributed to their powerful long tails. A Wyverns wingspan depends greatly upon the size of the dragon itself but on average range from 12 to 30 feet wide from one wing to the span of the other. Rising from 18 to 20 feet high. Free roaming Wyverns grow faster and bigger than a Wyvern that is forced to live in any kind of closed quarters - like the dragonpit. They have very powerful, muscular hind legs that give them the ability for large amount of a momentum that allows them to take off upright straight from standing. The impact on the ground from their take off is violent enough that creatures or people standing too close may get knocked down or blown back. A Wyverns head is often topped with vicious looking spiked horns, spines and protruding scales that vary in pattern from Wyvern to Wyvern - but can often bare resemblance to their parents.

  The Skull of a Wyvern can often give it a slightly armour like appearance, which is accurate representation as the skull is known to be the thickest bones in a Wyverns body. In comparison, A Wyvern has in addition to the main outermost layer of their scales, smaller, softer scales that layer up underneath at certain regions of their body - in particular at the base of their throat and where the neck connects to the back of their head. Two weak spots on a Wyverns body.

  A male Wyvern is called a Bull. A female Wyvern is called a Vixen. When Wyverns mate, they do not typically mate for life but for a mating season. However, on rare occasion, two Wyverns will actually meet and mate for life. A rare occurrence to come across and a dangerous one. Nothing is more volatile as a Wyvern whose mate is put in peril. Typically, a Bull and a Vixen will couple up to fertilize and nest a brood of eggs to which they both stay to protect. However, once the eggs hatch, the Bull tends to leave the mother to their tending for the first couple years of their life. Wyvern eggs are generally tear drop shop and bumpy to help cushion them should they fall from great height. A considerable 'hardy' outer shell that is not so easily broken without much effort. An egg can survive up to 25 years without incubation before hatching is consider impossible for it. It takes about 18 months for an egg to incubate and hatch successfully. Eggs can be incubated in a wild Wyvern nest on a rocky crag or can be incubated by human on an nest of ember and coals for a constant source of warmth. Colours of an egg is said to match the scales of the dragon within. Colour, however, does not affect any kind of power or ability. They are simply physical traits of a Wyverns features.

  Wyverns are fully carnivorous, and have been observed eating a plethora of various prey. In the mortal realm the common prey include bears, deer, and, yes sometimes even more sentient creatures like humans if they're wild. In Prythian where the Fauna ranges, they are known to eat deer, Silvalk but also greater beasts including the odd aggressive Fenrir when they're exceptionally hungry and willing to truly fight for their meal.

  Aside from their massive teeth, talons and tails, Wyverns also have the ability to spit corrosive saliva developed in their body. These corrosive liquids have the ability to erode human flesh and burn wood at a rapid pace but stronger elements like stone or metals take much longer to break down or dissolve to any kind of significant degree. However, every Wyverns corrosion ability is limited by their natural ability to produce the corrosive liquids. These are gathered and stored in the Wyverns 'flight sack' and connects to their two large saliva glands they secrete out of. This sack and these glands are limited to how much they can naturally contain and after a certain amount of attacks , they will run dry and need to go days without being able to spit corrosive saliva as their body natural needs to replenish its resources.

  As an OOC note about spitting corrosion IC, we will allow any Wyvern to do three corrosion attacks IC in a thread before their natural stores will be considered used up and be required to go three days and nights to naturally replenish their bodies stores before they can use the attack again. The projectile form of a Wyverns saliva attack is that of a glob NOT a continuous stream and they can generally spit it like a catapulted stone from a range of up to 100 feet (30 meters).

  Due to the fact that Prythian and the Mortal realm on a whole is not overly large, players should consider realistic 'lairs' and 'homes' for their Wyvern. You should consider it like finding finding housing for something that is a bit longer in length than a regular school bus and equally, if not more so, as wide for the Wing span. Most Wyverns prefer dwelling in or on a mountain range but they are also known to settle in forest caves, underground dwellings and crypts. Wyverns will not be 'housed' in any kind of stable near the characters personal physical home as they are too large and should be 'living' out of the village/town in a nearby wild area of the court.
• Griffins
  Griffins

  Griffins are majestic, intelligent and emotional creatures capable of great feeling. They take to training very well and are rather easily domesticated for various purposes. They are said to understand many languages of their Riders and are seen as a sort of sentient sort of creature with their own personality, mind and thoughts. When a Griffin mates, they mate for life and pairs tend to stay close together. Sadly, when one mate dies it is likely that the other will perish shortly after from, they say, a broken heart. However, there are instances where a mate will survive its partners death but that it will never pair with another Griffin and that its lifespan is likely to be greatly reduced. On average Griffins live to be 150 to 200 years old. Their life eras generally are seen as; Baby: 0-5, Child: 5-25, Young Adult: 25-55 (Maturity around 20-25), Adult: 55-130 and Elderly: 130-200

  Most Griffins stand taller than the largest horses, standing roughly 8 feet at the shoulders and weigh between 1,500 and 2,000 lbs. They have the flank of a lion and the head, forelimbs and shoulders, including wings, of an Eagle. Griffins have light, hollow bones to allow for flight, though their bones are magically enhanced to be stronger than those of regular birds, but are still weaker than those of a non-flying animal such as the Ronara and Onyxpaw. Griffins are very thick skinned and are thickly lined with strong muscles which keep them decently safe. They have feathers on the front halves of their bodies and thick fur on the back half and they are often armored up if being used, much like horses or other beasts of burden.

  A Griffin’s wingspan was 2 times their height, so a Griffin that stands 8 feet would have a wingspan somewhere between 16 feet. Griffins come in a variety of colors, browns, blacks, reds and whites and any variation in between though rarer blues and green pelt colorations have been noted. Griffins have 4 scaled fingers on their forelimbs adorned with 8 inch talons that can easily slice through any non-metallic armor and even some of the thinner metal armors. They are extremely graceful, fast fliers and can become airborne from a standstill. They are exceptionally dangerous when they dive attack as gravity plus their size can break the backs of the largest, strongest animals and structures.

  In the wilds where Griffins originate, they are known to be social creatures that live in 'Prides'. However, due to the fact that the Griffins that have come to Prythian and the mortal realm are more wide spread and living throughout the various courts with tiny populations, its not uncommon in Prythian and the Mortal realm to see only one or two living together or even a single Griffin living on its own. Here, they seem to mark territory in pairs or individually. Taking to habitats of their own preference whether thats at the High altitudes of the Illyrian mountain ranges in the Night Court or the sandy desert Dunes of the Day court. They are creatures that are versatile in the habitats in which they dwell. Growing thicker layers of feathers for colder regions and molting layers of feathers for hotter regions.

  As Griffins in our World are generally seen to be of similar size to very large Draft or Shire horses, they CAN be stabled in overly spacious and oversized barns fashioned to contain their sizes. Or, a more luxurious option would be to build aviaries for them. However this costs a lot of money and requires a lot of land and its unlikely that anyone but a High Lord would be able to create such a massive holding and currently nothing like this exists IC. So as an OOC note, keep in mind where your Rider stables their Griffin and be realistic with things like costs and upkeep and how well off your character is. Many riders might simply allow their mounts to range freely and summon them when needed.

  Griffins are exceptional hunters being that they are fast and agile and have highly adapted senses such as eyesight, smell and hearing. They can easily hit upwards of 150 mph during a dive and can fly roughly 75 mph horizontal to the ground. On foot, griffins can run roughly 50 mph though they rarely travel in this manner. They can easily fly with the weight of another full size griffin either tied to them or hanging from them. Their forelimbs can hold and carry roughly 1000 lbs and are aligned with muscles that can squeeze and grip at approximately 900 PSI.
• Water Kelpies
  Water Kelpies

  In our world of ACOTAR, we have a water mount for those that are happier in or on the water. Kelpies are half horse, half fish and live their lives entirely in the water. The front half of the Kelpies body is that of a horse, generally all gray or white with hooves of a horse that are reversed compared to a normal horse’s. The frontal half of Kelpies are usually 3-4 feet in length, beginning where the fish half and horse half merge and the rear half is usually roughly 6 more feet, making them roughly 10 feet in total from muzzle to the tip of the tail. The horse half stands roughly 6 feet at the shoulders, if it stands out of water, though they do not beach themselves too often as they are not capable of surviving on land for extended periods of time. Usually they will partially beach themselves to get food such as foliage, or to mount if they are tamed.

  Kelpies are exceptionally strong in the water as well as fast, capable of swimming upwards of 35 miles per hour and they are omnivorous, eating both meat and plants which makes them a possible threat to Fae and humans alike, though they rarely attack either unless they are sick and incapable of getting their preferred vegetation or fish. Kelpie have a weak spot – its bridle. Anyone (that has purchased the mount OOC) who can get hold of a kelpie’s bridle (IC) will have command over it. A captive kelpie can not be controlled by anyone other than THEIR MASTER and they are said to have the strength of at least 10 horses and the stamina of many more, and is highly prized. They are known to be quite stubborn, even with their owners at times but they can make amazing pets and are very useful.

  Saddles for Kelpies are a specialty and not all saddle makers know how to make them but those that do often have perfected it and the saddles do not affect the streamline bodies of the Kelpies, keeping them and their riders streamlined as they move through the water. Kelpies can breathe under water but they can also breathe above the water as they have 2 sets of lungs, one set within the horse half and another at the fish half where there are gills that pull oxygen from the water. When diving with a rider the Kelpies can be trained to release large bubbles of the oxygen stored in their equine lungs which the riders can catch in special made contraptions and use to breath under water.

  Kelpies can survive in all temperatures of water… in the colder temperatures their coloration is often black, a natural adaptation to pull sunlight to them, when it is available and warm them better. Like Orcas and dolphins they tend to travel in herds though the herds are generally small, usually one Bull (male) and 3 or 4 breeding females. Rogue males will travel on their own and fight other males to take over herds regularly, keeping the strongest bloodlines alive and thriving.
• Dreadwings
  Dreadwing

  Dusk Court’s largest known creatures are the Dreadwing that roost in the more southern mountain ranges of Hybern and coniferous forests located at the base of those mountains, they do NOT live in the wilds of Prythian. While their origins is Hybern, Dreadwings are quite capable of adjusting to almost any habitat they are forced to live in. They prefer heat rather than the cold due to their fleshy, scaly skin which is not adorned with fur to keep them warm… though they can survive in the cold if taken care of correctly by their ‘owners’ in captivity such as having special homes built for them which offer extra warmth to keep them happy and healthy. Dreadwings do not survive naturally in colder climates, in the wild, they will hunker down in warmer places or they will build themselves nests which they adorn with the feathers and pelts and bodies of other animals as well as mud… creating almost wind proof “dens” along the mountainsides or in trees.

  Dreadwings appear to be a terrifying mix of Wyverns and Griffins with the largest ever known was a female, standing around twelve feet at the shoulder and a length of fifteen feet from muzzle to tail tip. Their wings are leathery like a Wyverns wings and are roughly double their height, much like a Griffins. Dreadwings are strong, fast and intelligent though they are quite stubborn and require a skilled trainer to really tame and control them and they have NEVER been known to be tamed by anything other than demons. Dreadwing females are the larger of the genders as they do the hunting and fighting, except when it comes to males fighting over breeding rights. Females can weigh upwards of twelve hundred pounds with males generally two thirds of their size. The Dreadwing Aeries are the more permanent homes where some bonded Dreadwings choose to make their nests while wild Dreadwings may still be found nesting in mountainous Dreadwing territories outside of the Dusk Courts Fortresses protection. The Aeries within the fortress are made large and airy, with a lot of open walls caverns carved into the mountains at various levels to offer easy access to the outside, natural world.

  The Dreadwing Aeries are the more permanent homes where some bonded Dreadwings choose to make their nests while wild Dreadwings may still be found nesting in mountainous Dreadwing territories outside of the Dusk Courts Fortresses protection. The Aeries within the fortress are made large and airy, with a lot of open walls caverns carved into the mountains at various levels to offer easy access to the outside, natural world.

  Dreadwings eat meat… fresh or old and are some of the best scavengers in Prythian. They do not eat fruit and vegetables though they do accept grain on occasion but without meat they will die no matter how much grain they eat. Much like people… they do have varying tastes and some will refuse meat such as fish unless they are literally starving to death and some will refuse anything other than long dead and rotting meat. Their beak strength is exceptionally strong and they love bones and the marrow within them… making bones one of the best things to use for training. While they are stubborn, once they are trained they are exceptionally loyal to their riders and are sometimes obsessive over them.

  Dreadwing live in prides in the wild, run primarily by the females though a male will always be within the ranks for breeding purposes. Males will fight to the death for breeding rights and only have a life expectancy of twenty to fifty years in the wild whereas in captivity they will often live three or four hundred years. Females can live up to five hundred years in captivity and usually one to two hundred years in the wild. Females can give LIVE birth to one to two foals every fifteen years and the male foal stay within the pride until their maturity at thirteen years… females will remain within their birth pride usually for life. Male Dreadwings will kill foals that are not their own when they take over a pride which will send the female into heat again within weeks.

  Much like griffins, Dreadwings are exceptional hunters and have highly adapted senses such as eyesight and hearing, but their sense of smell is beyond understanding… giving them the ability to smell dead things miles away or even in ice. They can easily hit upwards of two hundred miles per hour during a dive, using their weight and gravity to their advantage and they can fly roughly fifty five miles per hour horizontally to the ground. On foot, they can run forty miles per hour as they are quite heavy. Their forelimbs can hold and carry roughly a thousand pounds and are aligned with muscles that can squeeze and grip at approximately twelve hundred PSI.