Roc

A booming call filled the air. The navigator raised the spyglass, scanning the horizon. Though the isles ahead did not reveal the origin of the call, he could not mistake its source. The, deep, one-note bird call hung another five seconds in the air, before ending. Absolute silence reigned before the great beast started its call again. When the Roc spoke, nature itself stood silent.

Unmatched in size and might by any creature in the Tescaries, the roc is the king of birds. Appearing as a truly massive eagle, the roc is to a shark what the eagle is to a carp. Known to live in the Eastern Archipelago of the Tescaries, the roc is so far beyond any other beast that many consider it a magical creature. The Tescarana regard the roc as Tinia's custodian, and believe that the roc's territory is reserved by the sea god. Thus, where the roc calls, they do not go. Thankfully, roc calls are easily recognizable. Rocs are solitary birds, holding entire islets and their surrounding waters as their hunting grounds. Seeking out other rocs only to mate, they otherwise avoid each other. Rocs take decades to reach adulthood and typically leave their nest to establish their own territory even before being fully grown. Even a young roc is a predator without match. Though solitary, rocs have been known to tolerate other, smaller predatory birds in their territory so long as those birds do not hunt anything that is large enough for the roc to bother with. A roc's feathers are considered to have magical properties. An arrow with a roc's feather tied to it is said to never miss. Legend also says that if one were to eat a roc's egg, they would gain eternal life but be cursed by the sea god. However, these tales are difficult to test.

Basic Information

Biological Traits

7 to 8 meters long on average, with a wingspan of over 20 meters, the roc dwarfs most creatures on the isles. Though nobody has ever weighed a living roc, one might suppose that it weighs well over a ton. The creature is not picky about eating whatever comes into its territory, but seems to prefer eating large marine predators. It is claimed that rocs grow in size and might as they grow older, and may live hundreds of years. The largest rocs could be half again as large as the typical roc, if such a thing can be said to exist.

Geographic Distribution