MagiStream

Young xhimrau live with one of their parents, usually their mother, a mere week before the parent abandons them to fare on their own in the depths of the caves. Researchers aren't sure why xhimrau hatchlings are pushed away so early, nor why their parents keeps them close for that first week, but some hypotheses have floated around the Keep's halls. The favored idea is that the caves are too sparse in food for an adult xhimrau to find food for its hatchling and itself for long, but that their one week together is necessary for a young xhimrau to learn how to find food. Xhimrau certainly seem surprisingly precocious compared to other mammalian creatures, and occasionally wander away from their parents willingly if they find sufficient food before their typical week of dependency is over.

Xhimrau of a given species are rarely seen with others of their own kind, but because their diets differ so starkly, the two species don't compete with one another. Many visitors who wander into the deeper parts of the caves where these odd creatures dwell have reported them interacting in surprisingly social ways, sniffing and even grooming other xhimrau whose territories overlap with their own.The common interaction between the two species has led some biologists to suggest they may interbreed often in the wild, with hatchlings then learning to hunt or forage from the parent that shares their dietary requirements. This seems to happen for the few xhimrau that live in the Keep, though little evidence of it has been confirmed in wild populations. Despite their close relations, the two known xhimrau species look and often act very different. Opaline xhimrau are adapted to break into places they're unwelcome, making use of their double-jointed paws that are armed with opposable thumbs and sharp claws to break into crystalwing eggs.

Xhimrau are bizarre denizens of the Caves of Nareau, rarely seen above the surface except in the company of magic users. They have surprisingly good vision for creatures that spend most of their time in caves, often using the bioluminescence of other organisms and inorganic materials in the caves to navigate. As the caves have sparse inhabitants, a xhimrau may have to go hungry for months before they find a decent meal, but their keen sense of smell leads them to the high-energy food sources they need to survive. Opaline xhimrau favor crystalwing eggs, using their strong, nimble paws to pry them open. If the eggs prove too tough for the opaline xhimrau, they will often throw them repeatedly against sharp crystals, and if they're truly desperate, they may throw the eggs away entirely and go after crystalwing hatchlings.

Young xhimrau live with one of their parents, usually their mother, a mere week before the parent abandons them to fare on their own in the depths of the caves. Researchers aren't sure why xhimrau hatchlings are pushed away so early, nor why their parents keeps them close for that first week, but some hypotheses have floated around the Keep's halls. The favored idea is that the caves are too sparse in food for an adult xhimrau to find food for its hatchling and itself for long, but that their one week together is necessary for a young xhimrau to learn how to find food. Xhimrau certainly seem surprisingly precocious compared to other mammalian creatures, and occasionally wander away from their parents willingly if they find sufficient food before their typical week of dependency is over.

Xhimrau of a given species are rarely seen with others of their own kind, but because their diets differ so starkly, the two species don't compete with one another. Many visitors who wander into the deeper parts of the caves where these odd creatures dwell have reported them interacting in surprisingly social ways, sniffing and even grooming other xhimrau whose territories overlap with their own.The common interaction between the two species has led some biologists to suggest they may interbreed often in the wild, with hatchlings then learning to hunt or forage from the parent that shares their dietary requirements. This seems to happen for the few xhimrau that live in the Keep, though little evidence of it has been confirmed in wild populations. Despite their close relations, the two known xhimrau species look and often act very different. The strong-smelling brimstone variety has noxious powder in its fur that makes it distasteful to would-be predators, but its fungivorous diet requires no powerful jaws or talons, and brimstone xhimrau are in fact quite gentle compared to their cousins.

Xhimrau are bizarre denizens of the Caves of Nareau, rarely seen above the surface except in the company of magic users. They have surprisingly good vision for creatures that spend most of their time in caves, often using the bioluminescence of other organisms and inorganic materials in the caves to navigate. As the caves have sparse inhabitants, a xhimrau may have to go hungry for months before they find a decent meal, but their keen sense of smell leads them to the high-energy food sources they need to survive. Brimstone xhimrau, despite their intimidating name and frightful smell, are fairly shy animals, feeding only on the glowing fungi that dwell in isolated pockets of the caves.