Unicorns

Basic Information

Anatomy

Unicorns are a species of horse changed by the gods. They are much smaller than the average horse, and have differing proportions to the domestic breed. Unicorns are proportioned much like a foal is, with long thin legs, large heads, and relatively thin bodies when compared to adult domestic horses. Often unicorns will have quite long tails and tufts of long fur on their legs and ankles with quite short manes. The species also has three toes, seeming to be used for better traversing more forested environments than domestic relatives. The most prominent trait, and one that gave the species its name, is that all unicorns grow a horn on their faces that varies depending on the population the animal is from, but generally is a long, smooth horn pointing forward. The horns of males are longer than that of females, but both sexes will grow them upon maturity.

Ecology and Habitats

Unicorns are primarily found in the Land of Gods, more commonly in Asia below the glacial line. Unlike their other equine relatives, Unicorns do not primarily inhabit grasslands, instead only coming to them to occasionally graze, instead spending much of their time in forests, sparse jungles, and marshland.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Unicorns primarily feast on tough grasses and reeds, mosses, ferns, and lichens. They will use their horn to dig up the soil around them in search of tubers and roots as well, occasionally using it to strip trees of their bark for consumption as well. The species will also eat insects alongside plants, however they do not make up the bulk of their diet. Fruit, mushrooms, and water plants such as algae are an uncommon treat that the species readily accepts along with abandoned crops.

Additional Information

Social Structure

A social species, Unicorns live in small family groups of a dominant stallion and his mates and their young, generally in groups of 4-8 adults. The stallion leads the group, deciding where to forage and graze, where to rest, and what water sources to drink from. The stallion of the herd defends the females from rivals, ensuring he is the only one to breed and produce offspring.
Unicorns occasionally will also infiltrate herds of horses should their paths cross, following along with them and being protected by their larger relatives. Strangely, unicorn stallions to not compete with horse stallions and can coexist together. It is thought that because unicorns look like foals, horses are drawn to protect them from predators and that unicorns will exploit this behavior, sometimes even suckling from nursing horses even if they are adults.
The species is extremely skittish and fearful of anything that is not an equine, prone to startling easily. They do not return to an area where they have been attacked for months or even years, even at their own detriment. Groups can be separated in the wild and lone stallions will often attempt to gain favor with females of another herd and take it over by driving out the dominant stallion.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

There have been many attempts to capture unicorns to attempt to domesticate them, almost always leading to failure. Captive unicorns suffer greatly, being incredibly stressed around people, machines, and other animals and will almost always refuse food and drink until death. Captive stallions will attack people when separated from their mates, and females if removed from their offspring will also become prone to attacking, braying until their throats become raw and bloody, and refuse food even if reunited, rejecting their offspring and even biting them.
The unicorn is sometimes hunted for their hair and horns, which are said to have incredibly potent magical energies that can protect against death, due to their connections to Shia, the God of Death. It is said that their body parts earn great favor with Mora, The God of Life, for killing Shia's servants and the god will grant the carrier great boons and luck, even protecting against disease.

Facial characteristics

Unicorns have the face of a young horse or foal, with a singular horn pointing forward from between the eyes. Usually, unicorns will have some kind of patterning around their horn in the center of their faces that spreads down to the nose and part way over the back of the neck.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Horse

Origin/Ancestry

Divine

Lifespan

Unknown

Conservation Status

Unknown- Thought to be critically endangered

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Brown, tan, black, or grey with speckling or spots, generally with darker legs.

Geographic Distribution

• Land of Gods

Discovered by

Shia, the God of Death