Briefly on world setting: Roughly classical age technology, magic is rare, difficult and shunned, flora and fauna is inspired by a remix of the Neogene period.

Practical concerns for long distance travel on kradjin

I'm writing about two people who are traveling through a forested area on terrorbird-analogs (based on titanis Walleri) called kradjin. I was hoping to get some input on practical concerns while traveling with these kinds of mounts. Any input would be great, but here are some specific things I have been wondering about:

• How often and how much would a terrorbird-analog need to eat while being used as a mount?

• How far can it be ridden between rest stops and how much ground can it cover in a day.

• How fast and how long can it run with a rider on back if it's running speed without a rider is 65 km/h.

I'm basing the design of the body on a terror bird called titanis walleri. It was 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) tall and weighed approximately 150 kilograms (330 lb) with a heavy build of the body and a large axelike beak

The morphology of the kradjin might differ from the titanis though, considering it has been used as mounts by humans for thousands of years. But I'm working under the assumption that it will have roughly the same height, weight and build.

In this world a few different flightless birds are used as mounts and the most common ones are herbivorous, but this one is a pure carnivore.

More info on the kradjin that might or might not be important to answer the question

The kradjin are highly intelligent and social animals who have lived close to humans for millennia. They have not been actively kept or bred in a systematic way, but they have a symbiotic hunting relationship with the humans in their native area that has advantaged the birds who are more social with humans. Similar to some parrots they can bond with specific humans and choose to go live with them instead of being with other birds. The humans in their native area do not treat them like property, and consider them to be equals. It is a great honor to have a kradjin bond with you. In other areas away from the native lands kradjin are beginning to be tamed and trained for riding and warfare

posted almost 8 years ago

Martine Votvik‭

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