Support - Aquar

Aquar are a species possibly originating in the Earthsky (though there is another larger species which occurs in to the north of the Guarded Land). In its natural state, the aquar is dun and mottled or lightly striped. The Chosen, and probably the Quyans before them, have bred silver aquar, a paler almost white race as well as the rarer black ones. The use of the latter is restricted to the Ichorians. These Chosen breeds are larger than the wild aquar of the Earthsky.

Aquar are used to pull chariots and the Plainsmen of the Earthsky use them to pull drag-cradles. Most commonly people ride them sitting in saddle-chairs.

Aquar are omnivorous. They will graze ferns and other scrubby plants but will also eat insects and smaller prey. The barbarians will often feed them on djada when wishing to maintain their performance without grazing. The Wise have taken this process to extremes by feeding the aquar of their auxiliaries exclusively on render.

Descriptions given in The Chosen:

"Up close, the aquar had a dun surface, mottled, mosaic-scaled, dull-gleaming. A groom held the reins. Carnelian followed these up to the swaying snake-scaled heron head, the narrow snout, the stone bit wedged into the angle of the jaws, the eyes' discs of green glass, as large as apples......Plumes flared suddenly above the eyes like salmon-pink peacock fans."

"Carnelian saw more aquar were waiting for them, larger than the ones they had been riding, as sleek and silver as fish. Their plumes were the colour of poppies.

(when crossing the Wheel) "A party of northerners lumbered past on large-headed aquar, each saddle-chair holding three or four of them, skin marbled with dirt, matted hair pebbled with amber."

(in the Canyon of the Three Gates) "Carnelian watched Jaspar climbing into another chariot nearby. He saw that it was yoked to a pair of pale-skinned aquar."

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