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The World of Fantasy, Part 3
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 KLINGON HORNED HORZ by Anna-Karin Larsson of Sweden |
They resemble a horse front and a fish back with flippers and a dorsal. They can stay underwater for up to two hours. They can breathe air of mainly oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon but the percentages do not have to be equal to Earth's atmosphere.
They must be hauled in tanks but once placed in a planet's oceans or water ways they adapt in less than 5 minutes. They have gills and lungs and bear live young. Hauling may be a problem but they are small in size - usually under 7 feet in length. Their adaptability makes them a great battle asset.
Their tail fin is hard like a hoof and can hurt if it strikes you. This fin can support them on land (for which they can only be beachbound for an hour before they begin to dry out). Their front hooves can be solid or cloven.
They communicate in a gurgle sound and not by neighing. They are very social and run in herds in the wild. They can communicate with their riders in a somewhat Terran speaking manner. They can also help their rider breathe underwater without scuba gear - making a bubble around themselves as they submerge. They are mild mannered, but can be quite ferocious if threatened.
 KLINGON HORNED HORZ WITH ONE HORN |
KLINGON HORSE BREEDS AND VOCABULARY
-Horned Horse (aka Tlhingan HorS 'et taj cha', or Klingon two-knife forehead horse) A light to medium weight HorS genetically developed by fusing material from the Klinzhai Warmblood with that of several Klingon animals. Horned Horses are 14-16 hands tall, more spirited and agile than Klinzhai Warmbloods and are available in all traditional horse colors. Horned Horses are favored by smaller, lightweight Imperial females and vay'rapbe' Guards of both sexes. This beat dervives its name from its bi-furcated rhinocerous-like forehead horn.
-HorS (horse, also Old Court Klingon, from the Terran word horse, horz) A horse-like animal bred or genetically developed from Terran equidae and the DNA of selected Klingon beasts. Used as military mounts as well as for draught and pleasure riding purposes. Excess and cull horses are eaten.
-HorS Qel (horse, doctor) An Imperial Mounted Guard veterinarian trained to treat HorsMey and sentinents (quvey, and if needed, military personnel) alike. Most are Academy-Trained officers with specialites in medicine.
-HorS chuch yuQ (horse, ice planet) A fanged, bad tempered, wooly coated carnivorous fusion HorS developed by Line Doqro' Genetics personnel for ice world applications, now bred exclusively at the Zandaarian Imperial Stud, planet Zandaar. HorSmey chuch yuQ require very little good and are almost impervious to cold due to a thick layer of insulatikng fat and a dense, wavy cream-colored body coat 12-20 cm in length. Shorter (2-5 cm), very plush hair in most standard horse colors covers this animal's face and legs. The HorS chuch yuQ has a long, thick horse-like forelock and tail but (usually) has no mane. These are massive animals of medium height. Their most distinguishing physical feature is a set of downcurved fangs (14-20 cm long) that protrude from the corners of this beast's mouth; this fang is located just above the animal's bars and is designed for slashing.
-HorS taj Ho' (horse, dagger, tooth) A larger, velvet coated, fanged, omnivorous HorS produced by crossing HorSmey chuch yuQ and Klinzhai Warmbloods.
-Klinzhai Warmblood (aka HorS Qo'noS 'lw loQ tu) A large (16-18 hand) heavy bodied war HorS developed by linebreeding imported Terran draft horses, emphasizing size, agility, intelligence, courage, and soundess. Today's typical Klinzhai Warmblood weighs 1 metric ton. These large, impressive animals are favored by Imperial riders, who require size and strength in their mounts; they are particularly useful for crowd and riot control units. Klinzai Warmbloods can be any traditional horse color, including parti-color, manes and tails are full, coarse-textured, and often wavy.
 KLINGON HORNED HORZ by Anna-Karin Larsson of Sweden |
-SmallHorse (aka tlhingan HorSHom) This is a smaller version of the Horned Horse or BloodHorse (depending on whether or not it is horned) produced specifically for teaching children the elements of horsemanship. In Terran terminology it would be called a 'pony'.
-BloodHorse (aka tlhingan HorS 'lw, or Klingon Blood Horse) Same as the Klingon Horned Horse, but engineered without the DNA of the Horned Horse's ancestor and thus lacking its distinctive two-knobbed forehead horn.
-Experimental Fusions. It should be noted that ongoing research into the production of new HorS breeds continues on planet QoSaH under the direction of Genetics Master Azran sutai Doqro'. Therefore 'odd' fusion HorSmey may sometimes be seen in the ranks of the Imperial Mounted Guard. One such horse is Qagh, the black mare ridden by Sgt. Alayja tai Doqro' in Comes the Sun. Because of their unsuitable temperament, the others from Qagh's test breeding were destroyed, making her one of a kind.
DELPHIAN SPIDER HORSE
Originating on the planet Delpha Omega Prime in the Gamma Quadrant, this eight-legged horse may look to be an oddity but is a very adaptable creature.
 KLINGON HORNED HORZ WITH ONE HORN |
Measuring between 12-18 hands this horse has eight legs and eyes like a giant spider hiding in a horse body. They have fang like teeth and two tentacles on their head that act as radar. They come in every imaginable color and mixture of colors. It is unknown as to why they were bred but they are quite useful.
Spiders have cloven hooves with a suction type bottom making them able to climb and kling to all surfaces. They can lose up to 4 legs and still be functional. They have 2 large fangs called wolf fangs that produce a web-like material. They use this for holding their food, building a web nest around their domains in the wild and humanoids can use it for fishing line, hammocks, and clothing thread and other things although it is quite sticky, but that can be soaked off in salt water.
Spiders are carnivorous eating small vermin, fish, and fowl. They are not poisonous to humanoids. Their radar tentacles can locate food sources, water sources, and various vibrations for up to 5 miles away. Their eyes can focus in all directions and they can process all visuals at one time. Like their legs, Spiders can lose up to 6 eyes and still be functional. Foals are born in a cocoon sac after a 6 month gestation. The sac opens 2 hours after 'birth' and the foal eats that for its first nutrients.
PANDORIAN TAN-TAU
Own a Tan-Tau and you have half of the foot into the Emperor's bedroom... Well, this isn't completely true, but the Tan-Tau is the ultimate symbol of the Pandorian Empire. They have lovingly cared for and bred those beasts for thousands of years.
When the catlike people reached Pandora after their homeworld had been destroyed and the second ship of the two who had left the homeworld was lost, they brought along a riding animal like no other. And a little more then 4000 years of breeding has made its mark.
 PANDORIAN TAN-TAU graphic by Anna-Karin Larsson of Sweden |
The Tan-Tau is a gentle and very intelligent equine looking animal. They originated on the old homeworld; the name is long forgotten and they no longer know for sure where it actually was. But the new planet got not just new masters; it also got two new animals- the Tan-Tau, and a charming spitzlike doganimal called the Deenah. It looks like a Siberian Husky with a Triceratops beak and big sheeplike horns that tend to very from sheep to almost red-deer style. But let us get back to the Tan-Tau itself!
Big, bold and charming! Well, big is just the beginning. Some of the Tan-Taus reach nearly 2 meters. The bigger the better, according to the general opinion of the breeders of ridinganimals. But the range in shape is almost as varied as the one for the ponies and horses we have on Earth. The size is rarely a problem, but they tend to pay little attention to the fact that they are big! Sometimes the Tan-Tau can be a bit clumsy and not think of their size.
As the illustration shows, the Tan-Tau looks a lot like a dog. Like the Deenah, they are carnivores but are just as satisfied with vegetarian diets. But their bodies are best fed with at least 30% of the diet with meat or chicken flour made into a sturdy porridge. The animal is more then just a riding animal to the Pandorian people. They are a big part of the way of life. Most of the Tan-Taus are owned by private persons. The well-fed and properly cared for Tan-Tau often lives for centuries. They have over the years adapted to the Pandorian people in an amazing way and the Tan-Tau often does not draw its last breath until its master does. The long companionship sometimes shows a strange contact that almost becomes telepathy. The oldest Tan-Tau was the snowwhite breedingbull Barra Fewa 66. He ended up becoming 96 years before he died.
As many animals do, they by either natural selection or by breeding standards end up as different breeds. The Tan-Tau has reached the same stage. Over the years the Pandorian people have developed several breeds of Tan-Tau. It has all been more or less based on the animals brought on the first ship- mostly Tan-Taus with a body like an ordinary warmblood. But it has slowly changed into a several breeds based on draftlike material or the famous White Temple Tan-Tau.
If you have enjoyed reading about the horses of
the Imperial Mounted Guard and would like to know more, please write to
Melissa Addison, P.O. Box 215, Tonganoxie, KS 66086.