Terror Bird

Terror Birds are noble but posh creatures used for transport by the races of Astrohanasia. They quickly get aggravated by any perceived offence, such as the clothes of the rider but will proof themselves to be an invaluable ally when a rider earns their respect accepted. A Terror Bird will ride to the end of the world and back for their rider.

Most cultures have their own breed of Terror Bird, each bred for a specific purpose. Some groups might prefer speed while others desire a more robust body that can take a blow. For example the Orcs breed their Terror-Birds for combat, while Sun Elves have focused so much on the plumage of their birds that they have turned a beautiful white.

Description
The Terror Bird is a 2.8 meters tall bipedal bird of prey that weights on average 300 to 350 kilograms. It has a robust body covered in black feathers supported by long muscular legs that it uses to chase after their prey. Its wings in comparison are relatively tiny, and covered in a pattern of white spots. These wings are only used in the matting ceremony. Its neck is long and slender and ends in a featherless head. This head is mostly covered by a massive eagle-like beak that it uses as a hatched to rip into their prey.

Psychology
During mating season the male Terror Birds start to compete in a matting competition. They extend their wings and wave them around so their white spots start to blur together, forming weird shapes. The first male to scare of the other one earns the right to mate with the females and is allowed to father offspring.

History
The first Terror Birds appeared around 56 million years ago and quickly one of the top predators of the plains they inhabit.

It was the Orcs, still under the yoke of the Dusk Lord that bravely (or foolishly) made the first attempts to dominate these noble creatures. The endless tenacity of the hordes of the Dusk Lord eventually proved to be too great for the Terror Birds to ignore, and they were subjected by their new orc masters, who started to breed them for mounted combat. After the orcs broke free from their the Dusk Lord they started to sell their Terror Birds to other races, who took them with them and began to selectively breed their own types of Terror Bird, spreading the them far and wide.

Nowadays the Terror Bird can be most often found near any location that has a military presence. While they were at first only native to the savannas that surround the wall citadel of Hilal, they eventually got spread far and wide as armies started to incorporate cavalry into their lines.