Beware the Hootroar…

“The scouts had brought in a hootroar. It was the apex manifestation of Twisted depravity. Thick, massive, and twice as tall as a shaper, with four powerful, tearing, bear-like arms, and a tufted, feathered head set with eyes of malice above a hooked, ripping beak, it was a fearsome thing.”

The Rise and Fall of the Red Queen, Part 2, Chapter 1: Take and Give

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Of all of the twisted creatures that resulted from the Breaking of the Realm, the hootroar is among the most feared … and for good reason. Few have come up against one of these and have lived to tell the tale. Within the city of Masq, only Magnus Fleet is known to have survived an attack.

These days, hootroars live solitary lives. Most dwell alone in the dark valleys of the Broken Realm where the effects of the Twisting still linger. On the occasions when they take a mate, they develop a fierce attachment to their partner. The only thing more dangerous than a single hootroar is one that feels that its mate is threatened.

Fortunately, there aren’t many of these monsters left, as they don’t multiply in great numbers … unless bred. Legends still tell of the dark days during the Twisted Wars when entire regiments of hootroars were used as heavy cavalry within the Horde. The beasts were ridden hard and far. Their dark masters pitted their fur, feathers, and claws against the bright armor and lances of the stepper-mounted knights of the Alliance.

Memories recorded by the survivors of these desperate charges are still sung on long winter nights around many a campfire.

Hopefully, they are sung far, far away from the eerie, ululating, haunting call of a hunting hootroar.

For the Broken Realm is healing. But it is not healed yet.