Description:
Closely related to their larger cousins, wyverns, desert runners are a species of reptile adapted for living in desert / semi arid conditions. They are incredibly fast, enabling them to catch any of the small fast moving animals they usually prey upon. Not a solitary species, these creatures live in groups of up to twenty and act as a 'flock' rather than having a single dominant animal. When working together they can easily overwhelm and bring down larger prey.
They vary in colour, but most are of a purplish hue. They have small underdeveloped wings which can be used to stay in the air longer when jumping but are too small to fly with (save for a few with a rare mutation that has given them big enough wings and wing muscles to fly with). Also, most space that would once have been occupied by wing muscles is now used by their huge leg muscles instead.
If trained form hatching, desert runners are large enough to carry any human-sized rider and are favoured mounts of the Hssaar snake-people. They are not incredibly bright, can be a little 'bird brained' and squabble a lot, but being the fastest land animal in all of Caevalonia more than makes up for this.
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Average Statistics
Size: 1 - 2 m tall
Weight: up to 80kg
Preferred Environment(s): Deserts. scrubland.
Diet: carnivorous / hunters
Alignment (if any): n/a
Life expectancy: 7-12years
Solitary/Group (number): Group. Live in packs of up to 20adults.