Argentavis

Weight (Wild): 159 - 180 lbs

Height (Wild): 4'11" - 5'11"

Length (Wild): 11'6" - 12'3"

Wingspan (Wild): 17 - 22 feet

Weight (Domesticated): 560 - 800 lbs

Height (Domesticated): 10 - 15 feet

Length (Domesticated): 17 - 23 feet

Wingspan (Domesticated): 43 - 51 feet

Social Unit: Individual

Native to: Aurea (Naturalized on Aztlan)

Known Variants: Wild, Domesticated

Argentavis is a colossal vulture that originated in the mountains and deserts of Argentolia and Tangolia on the planet Aurea. This colossal bird does not flap its wings often, usually soaring over thermal currents instead as normal vultures do. Although these birds are in fact the largest known flying birds in the entire galaxy, they have no interest in eating living creatures. Instead, they soar high above the ground, using their keen eyes and strong sense of smell to search for the corpses of large beasts such as rock drakes, landsharks, hippogriffs, pegasi, tarbosaurus, and even sandworms. When they find a corpse, they will meticulously feed on it, using its size, beak, and talons to scare away any other scavenger that dares get in its way. Naturally, these colossal scavengers caught the eyes of the Tangolians, Aurea's first settlers, when the birds learned that they could get easy meals by picking off dead or sick livestock.

As a result, the Tangolians decided to keep these birds around instead of killing them or chasing them off, and had begun domesticating them by building large wooden aviaries to contain them and control their breeding. After many years, the Tangolians had produced a domesticated variant that was not only exponentially larger than its wild counterpart but also more docile and friendly to people. This new domesticated variant was used for riding, transportation, war, and even recreation, becoming a sort of aerial horse for the Tangolians.

Aurea was not the only planet the Tangolians settled, however, and the Tangolians eventually began to spread domesticated Argentavis throughout their empire. Although they were not a success in most of the galaxy, they eventually found another home on the faraway planet of Aztlan, whose hot, rocky, and dry climate proved a perfect place for Argentavis. The native Aztlanians incorporated Argentavis domestication into their culture, but most importantly, Argentavis domestication there took off to the point where several thousand birds escaped captivity and took to the wilds of Aztlan, where they quickly evolved into a form more resembling their wild ancestors to fit Aztlan's environment. Within a few thousand years, these feral birds had adapted to the point where they had effectively regressed into their wild form and are still an important part of Aztlan's ecosystem to this day.

Before long, the Tangolian Empire fractured into several thousand smaller planets and kingdoms, and the one left in charge of Aurea was the Guant Kingdom, which eventually became known as Aurea. The Aureans decided to keep using domesticated Argentavis, as they can fly extremely long distances without stopping to rest. However, while the Aureans still rode them and used them for war, they also put cargo on their backs and started using them as flying pack mules. They are also used for other purposes, such as in the celebration of Hermes Day, during which thousands of Argentavis, painted in vibrant shades of red and green, are flown over the skies of the Aurean capital of Astrás.

Argentavis typically lay one egg every two springs, since hatchlings are fully grown after about a year of careful feeding and nurturing by the mother, who typically lays the eggs in truly colossal nests on mountaintops or cliff faces.