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Creatures of Above

Dende (Boatbird, Giant Loon, Oslira Boatbird)

Dende are huge aquatic birds, similar to loons or mergansers, but unable to fly or walk. They have broad bodies, long necks, stubby wings used as paddles, and short legs at the rear of their bodies to propel them forward. Their tails are stumpy. Their feathers are a dark blue that shines in the sunlight when they are dry, and nearly all are comparatively short for their body size. They feed mostly on floating vegetable matter and weeds in shallow water, but supplement their diet with small fish and crustaceans.

Uniquely among birds, the young of dende are born live. The newborn young quickly clamber onto their mother's back, where they remain until their swimming ability has improved enough for them to venture further afield. They are quite adroit upon or within the waters, and can dive for long periods of time.

Few wild dende live on the Oslira River, for the Dendeninni people use most of them as boats; no one else has the knack of working with the huge birds. An adult dende is large enough to carry several people, a horse and a couple of people, or a pile of cargo, hence their common name.

Before the Dawn, the Dendeninni people made a pact with the goddess Dende, who was famous as the only creature to conquer the Black Eel that otherwise kept all creatures out of its waters. They were prominent at the Dawn upon the rivers. Over the centuries, however, their rivers have been walled up to make paddies and their mating beds ravaged for tubers, and now they are scorned as just another of the many "weeder peoples" of the Oslira.

Dende
Weapons and Armor: Bite 12^1, Feathers ^2.
Significant Abilities: Forage 15, Large 2w, Stay Underwater 18, Strong 15, Swim 10w.
Tactics: Dende swim away from most predators. When panicked, they dive and wait until their attacker has left.

Korenthe (Choralinthor Crane, Giant Crane)

Much of the six foot height of these giant cranes is due to their long legs and necks. They are gray, with black legs, heads, and necks, and a patch of bright red feathers on their foreheads. Like other cranes they mate for life and make loud, trumpet-like calls, especially when threatened by intruders. Each pair of cranes builds a platform-nest in shallow water and jealously guards the surrounding wetland area. Barring accidents, they can live for more than sixty years. They usually eat small- to medium-sized mammals, amphibians, fish, and the like, but will eat almost anything. Their favorite prey is the huge frogs of Frog Island, in the Choralinthor Bay.

Korenthe are most noted for their association with the folk of the Rightarm Islands of Kethaela, who summon them to protect their fishing villages from pirates or other raiders. They call their goddess Korenth the Great Rebel, but she has kept her origins a secret from her worshippers. She was a demigoddess who fled from the north during the Storm Age. She made pacts with the local gods to survive, and mated with the deity Choralinthor to produce her children.

Korenthe
Weapons and Armor: Peck 15^1.
Significant Abilities: Forage 18, Intimidate With Loud Calls 18 (+18 AP/flock member), Resist Magic 2w, Swim 15.
Tactics: Although individual Korenthe are not much of a threat, great flocks of them may descend upon small groups of attackers. When this happens, their Intimidation ability can be used to great effect, with one bird using the AP of its fellows in the contest.

Owls

Owls are found throughout Glorantha. They avoid only the harshest of habitats and the open sea, but most species prefer forests. Where eagles and their relatives hunt through the day, owls hunt at night. They catch prey with their feet, then kill it with a few bites, swallow it whole; they later regurgitate the bones and other inedible parts. Most owls nest in holes in trees or cliffs, but there are exceptions: Pentan owls inhabit old gopher holes, for example. Outside of the breeding season, owls are solitary.

Orable is the Greater Pelorian Owl. When the world got dark, then bad, the bats swept far and wide, pillaging, sucking blood, and taking souls wherever they wanted. Vrimak called his most courageous warrior to him, and blessed the god Orable to fight this scourge. Ever since then, the bats and owls have been dire foes. A small tribe of Fronelan hsunchen worships Flar, the Black Owl Spirit, and is infamous for its nocturnal raids. They practice the Korgatsu Tradition like all hsunchen, and say that they are humans who turn into birds.

Greater Pelorian Owl
Weapons and Armor: None significant.
Significant Abilities: Acute Hearing 5w, Aerobatics 18, Fly Fast 12, Fly Silently 18, Pounce 2w, See at Night 10w, Small 12.
Tactics: Owls hide on a suitable perch, then swoop down silently on prey passing beneath. They grab the creature with their claws and dispatch it with a few sharp pecks before swallowing it whole. Attacks for normal-sized owls are too insignificant to humans to bother listing.