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Chirolupe Male (Left) and, Female (Right)
The Chirolupe (pronouced either CHEER-oh-loop or
KIE-roh-loop) is an original creation of Skyhaven Adoptions' creator,
also known as the Bright Dreamer. The
name comes from the scientific names for the order of bats (chiropteros)
and the genus of the wolf (lupus), the two animals whom the chirolupe
resembles the most. (The Bright Dreamer is well aware that neither
pronounceation likely comes close to the proper Latin pronounceations,
but Skyhaven is hardly a scientific outfit. Anyone
whom this annoys should ask themselves why they are here to begin
with.)
Origins
An ancient species, the chirolupe
has been known since Tiriallean prehistory. Larger species than those surviving today are depicted in petroglyphs in some of
the oldest inhabited regions of Tirialle. They are frequently shown, in these, as being ferocious and aggresive
hunters, a reputation that modern chirolupes certainly do not deserve.
The species offered at Skyhaven is referred to as the "common"
chirolupe. Males can be distinguished by their denser manes, hairier
snouts, and longer wing claws.
Habitat
Today's chirolupes are smaller and less aggressive than their ancestors. They
live in mountainous regions, from
the hills of the Black Ice Forest to the canyons of the Copper Desert,
favoring the West Realm and Midrealm regions of Tirialle.
Feeding
They are omnivorous, but favor fresh meat. Like wolves, they hunt in packs, and have been known to bring down
dragons when desperate enough. Very few non-draconic species can
make this claim. Chirolupes tend to hunt from the ground, though sometimes a pack will send an "sky tracker" aloft to scout for game.
The rest of the pack fans out until alerted by the sky tracker that game
is afoot, at which time they surround and bring down their victim.
They also eat some berries and fruits, and will dig up roots and tubers
when meat is scarce. Carrion is avoided as "unclean" or
"shameful."
Life Cycle
Cubs are born in
late spring in litters of two to six (the larger the number, the higher the
mortality rate tends to be), and take nearly ten years to mature. They don't learn to
fly until the end of their first year, and are carried by other pack members
when they resort to air travel. When they grow their adult mane, they
are sent out on a "vision quest" of sorts, and are not to be seen
by any other pack member for one month. This time alone lets the young
chirolupe prove their survival skills and, it is thought, contact their
ancestral spirits for wisdom and guidance. When they return, those who
wish to remain with their birth pack undergo the blood exchange ritual (see
Culture, below.) Those who do not bid their family and friends farewell and
strike out on their own, usually to find other loners to form a new pack
with or simply to find themselves a suitable mate. Chirolupes mate for life, taking vows of fidelity in a ceremony that mirrors
the blood exchange rituals of joining a pack. Within a particular
pack, however, only the alpha pair produces cubs.
Chirolupes live to be at least a century old in the wild. Upon a death, their pack members spend a solid day and night in mourning around the
body; only the deceased one's mate lingers any longer than that, for to a
chirolupe the only truly mournful time is that period between one's death in
this world and one's "birth" in the next one.
Culture
Chirolupes are
sentient, and - despite what many commoners believe - possess a culture of
sorts. Their lives are centered firmly around their family and their
pack, which is sometimes
referred to as a tribe. An alpha pair oversees upwards of 20
chirolupes of varying ages, many of them related. Alpha chirolupes are
readily identified by the ritual claw-slashes on the underside of their wings. Every
new member of the pack, be it a wanderer taken in or a cub come of age, must
taste the blood of their leaders before they are accepted, and the wing is the easiest place to draw this.
Chirolupe wings heal swifly, so this does no lasting harm to the alpha
pair. The ritual demonstrates the leaders' willingness to shed blood for their
followers. In return, the alpha pair marks the ears of the new pack
member with their fangs. By withstanding this in silence, the
chirolupe demonstrates their trust in and loyalty to their new chieftain and
chieftainess. Such blood-exchange rituals are common in chirolupe society. Their poorly-understood spiritual beliefs grant blood a powerful connection to the greater
powers, and the alpha pair acts as both secular and spiritual
leaders for the pack.
Challenges for dominance are rare, and seem to be dictated mostly by
ritual and spiritual guidance rather than open bloodshed. Similarly,
in-pack or interpack disputes are usually resolved without resorting to
unpleasant physical force, though disputes with non-chirolupes all too
often come to blows.
Temperament
Chirolupes are more aggressive than many Skyhaven beings, but are by no means
bloodthirsty.
Most have enough self control to walk away before doing anything
regrettable, but they can fly into berserk rages when
angered, hurt, or threatened. Contrarily, they are extremely loving of mates,
pack members and their young, and except for their blood-exchange rituals are
rarely known to raise a talon against another chirolupe. Almost all combat for dominance, territory,
food or mates is highly ritualized. The exceptions occur only in
extreme situations, such as famine or drought. They are more likely to take their own life than that of a fellow
chirolupe. Blood honor is very important; bloodshed is not.
Chirolupes are secretive and distrustful of strangers, especially humanoids. Many will not even grant a non-chirolupe their real
name. They appear to be superstitious about encounters with
other sentient beings, which may explain why they are so rarely happened
upon in Tirialle. Perhaps, someday, they will come to trust an
outsider enough to shed more light on their culture and lifestyle.
Their decision to send select pack members to Skyhaven Keep for adoption is
a sign that this day may come soon.
Magical Traits
Aside from the blood-rituals mentioned earlier, chirolupes are rumored
to practice a form of necromancy, in which the spirits of ancestors may
be summoned for wisdom or assistance. Few outsiders have witnessed
such ceremonies, which are reportedly "terrifyingly potent."
Some chirolupes possess image-based telepathy, which is how they usually
communicate with outsiders when they choose to do so.
Other Notes
These are among the quietest of creatures at Skyhaven (with the possible
exception of tazelwurms, who lack vocal cords.) The young will
occasionally yip or whine, and adults will sometimes howl much like a
wolf, but most of their communication seems to be on a supersonic or
telepathic level.
Chirolupes have
excellent eyesight, but can hunt exclusively by sound if
necessary. Like bats and dolphins, they are capable of echolocation,
which involves producing supersonic bursts
of sound and listening for the echoes. This creates a sonar map that lets them hunt on foggy and dark nights
when other predators (not to mention prey creatures) are at a disadvantage.
There is also a rumor that concentrated barrages of a chirolupe's supersonic
calls can
temporarily stun prey, especially subsentient creatures like rats or other
small mammals. Their acute hearing makes them sensitive to loud, sharp
noises; anecdotes across chirolupe territory attest to (unconfirmed) cases
of people being attacked for persistent loud, off-key whistling near a
pack, usually done as a joke by someone who disbelieved the anecdotes.
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