Voidhare

The Voidhare (Vepus Labothae; Ainuya : angoldá) is a small omnivorous mammal native to the ancient Boshaari crownworld. Despite its name, the Voidhare has more vulpine characteristics : a flattened skull, long triangular ears that dissipate desert heat, and a bushy tail. However, they are much smaller than a typical fox, and far better adapted to desert temperatures, though they dwell in nearly any climate. Adult hares grow to be the size of a large housecat and tend to live from 20 to 40 cycles.
Voidhares were brought aboard the Embassy Ark during the Great Jump. Since then, they have made their homes on Aistanar, though wild hares have also appeared on Nufano, where they are considered an ecological pest. Desert voidhares also live on Hakaria.

Ecology

Voidhares live in burrows and generally keep to family groups, though families like to interconnect their dens, leading to maze-like structures. Voidhares are omnivores, who will feed on just about anything. In the wild, this tends to be small prey and rodents, insects, fruits and roots. Voidhares give birth to litters of one to six kits who reach maturity in about a year.

Arcane Coats

Voidhares boast fluffy ethereal coats of blues, purples and teals. This strange coloration can be attributed to trace amounts of Thaumium in the hair, and may have once helped the animal attune to magic currents. This may explain strange displays of arcane which, in legends of Boshaari past, often heralded the coming of a voidhare herd.

Voidhares in Boshaari culture

In Fallanist iconography, the Voidhare often features prominently as a trickster creature bearing powerful magic, favoured by the Inheritor, whose shrines often feature stone and wooden Voidhare statues. Voidhares are believed to be messengers of the Boshaari deities, going back and forth between shrines of many Æsimar. Voidhares are often depicted with a halo or sigil on their flattened head. More than a few Æsimar are, themselves, depicted as hares, whose ears often adorn the masks of chantry officials.
There are many stories claiming that Voidhares have seven lives, and that when a Voidhare dies, it simply reincarnates in the Great and Most Holy Burrow before reappearing near the spot of its demise. The older and wiser a hare gets, the more magical it becomes, and the number of sigils atop its head increases.

Voidhares as tricksters

Voidhares are often seen as lazy, sometimes pompous tricksters, happy to play cheerful pranks on unsuspecting people. In classic fairytales and stories, their second favourite targets are overly proud nobles and those lacking in humility - for nothing can be more gracious than a voidhare. Their absolute favourite target, of course, is food; many voidhares happily steal unsupervised food only to never give it back.
A popular children's story involves a trickster hare, the Harey One, who plays practical pranks on the naive and overly trusting.

Voidhares as protectors

Voidhares are said to value humility and generosity. Voidhares love to attach themselves to Boshaari households, protecting them from bad omens and granting good fortunes. In ancient times of waning arcane, warrior clans were said to wield voidhare magic, granting them power and prestige, and reinforcing their holy links to the Inheritor.
Voidhares also bring gifts to those who honour and value them - though these gifts are never tangible (typically, they bestow good fortune, health, or friendship).

Voidhares as messengers

As beloved creatures of the Inheritor and inherently magical beasts, Voidhares enjoy a great deal of prestige amongst the faithful. With their swift, uncanny demeanour, they are sometimes seen as messengers between the Inheritor and the myriad Æsimar. Their image therefore features prominently, usually as wooden or stone statues that watch over shrine visitors.
There are ancient legends about talking voidhares dispensing wisdom in exchange for food, and donations of fruit and roots are often sought by shrine attendants to invite the good will and fortune of voidhares upon the shrine community.

Thousand Voidhare Breeds

In the ancient Kingdom of Meridia (9500 BC), Voidhares were bringers of good and bad omens, and the movements of their herds were closely followed by divine advisers. Their sacrifices were stopped by the rising Cult of the Inheritor, who instead took them in as pets and messengers. It became customary for nobility to offer a voidhare to a new King or Queen, and soon newly-ascended monarchs would often look after entire colonies of Voidhares on their first day in power. Their offsprings and lineages were often carefully tracked and bred, which gave rise to the Voidhare Fancy and the ancient Thousand Voidhare Breeds. Across the ages, many shrines also bred their own types of Voidhare breeds.

Historical trivia

During the Industrial Revolution (3500 BC), the Voidhare became the symbol of trade unions, though scholars are unsure why. Some suggest that 'lazy, 'tricky' unionists were mockingly depicted as Voidhares, but that the depiction was reclaimed by work reformists. In the Empire of Sixteen (540 BC), the great chef Thalia Ithirae opened an interplanetary string of high-class restaurants featuring the distinguishing gourmet voidhare as their mascot.