Domesticated animals

Domesticated Animals Cats, Dogs, Horses, pigs, sheep, chickens, and goats are common. In addition, there are several unusual farm animals on Megalos. giant spiders, Milkfish, OrcBeetles, dragons, and butterbees are all raised as a part of village life. Cows surprisingly, are not found anywhere on the shard. Dragons There are three types of dragons, The great dragon cows, female, flightless, massive, ponderous, and slow. grass eaters. Then there are the dragon bulls, Male, winged, meat eating, smaller, but far more agressive, with the ability to breath fire, and protective of their herd of mates.Then there is the intelligent, neuter True Dragons, each unique in form, color, and temperament, hatched from Dragon Cows, who have the mystical ability to reincarnate with full memories intact. This is what makes them so deadly, so wise, and so ancient. They literally learn from their mistakes, even fatal ones. There are a limited number of true Dragons. When they die, they are reborn in the egg clutch of a non intelligent dragon cow, from their first day out of the egg, they have all their knowledge and skills. So in a sense, there is currently no such thing as a young intelligent dragon. Spiders: spiders tend to be about the size of a cat... they are fairly clever as farm animals go, and both loyal and freindly. They make good pets. However, the principal use of these spiders derive from their silk. The common farm spider is a wolf spider, hunting mice and small rodents as a cat does, as well as feeding on grains and waste meat byproducts. They do not make webs. Instead the silk is milked out of them using a simple device similar to an oven baster. This sticky mass can then be spun into a fine silk that is used for all types of woven materials... Silk is a major export of Megalos to other shards. These spiders are large enough to be dangerous to chickens, but not much larger than that. There are however much larger spiders, most of which are undomesticated... with the exception of the collossal Harbor spiders, magically controlled to act as living tugboats. Milkfish: These are freshwater fish, similar to trout. They are quite comfortable living in small wire cages left under moving water such as a stream bed, and most farms keep several Milkfish in just such a device. They can be pulled out of the water, and stroked to release a white secretion similar in consistency to milk. this "milk" is sweet and tasty, and a popular and healthy beverage that keeps for weeks. Butterbees: These insects live very much like honeybees, preferring to live in honeycombed hives. But instead of honey, they produce a substance that is incredibly similar to butter, and can be used to make cheeses, cream, and other substances similar to milk byproducts. Butterbees do not sting, they bite, and can be quite painful. Natural hives are shaped much like clumps of yellow grapes, and butterbees prefer cool wet places to nest, such as river banks. Orcbeetles: Originally raised by Orcs, these sheep sized beetlelike creatures are now common meat animals. They taste quite good, similar to baked ham, with almonds. Not really much like beetles in physiology, although they greatly resemble them. Their shells are hard, and once the beetle dies, they become very brittle. Usually the shells are ground up for use as compost and fertilizer. Orcbeetles are grazing animals, and easy to take care of. Nobody ever accused an orcbeatle of being intelligent.