Pergonzias
| Classification | Kangaroo-horse hybrid |
|---|---|
| Habitat | The Kella Desert and Varaar |
| Size | As big as a horse, with the head carried higher |
| Notable traits | Speed, split tail, floppy ears, hooves |
| Notable individuals | Nupika |
| First appearance | Sacred: Eslura's Calling |
Pergonzias are the riding beasts of the Kella Desert, and are held by the people who ride them to be the fastest animals in Eslura.[1] The bestiary appendix, which heads the entry in the singular as PERGONZIA, calls them double-tailed desert-dwelling kangaroo and horse hybrids, credits them with the reliable transport of goods and people across the Kella, warns riders never to let go of the reins, and says they race weekly at the colosseum in Varaar.[2]
Appearance
A pergonzia "resembled a kangaroo in every way except that it was as big as a horse", with "floppy rabbit ears, large eyes, and a tail that split in two near its end".[3] The Way Shadows Live calls the species "the floppy-eared desert dwelling-kangaroo".[4] Their ears droop far enough that Tab can lift one to shout into it.[1] Aero Ellisvat thinks they somewhat resemble rabbits.[5]
They stand taller than a horse. Tied beside Aero's horse Sela, a pair of pergonzias carried their heads above hers, and a rider dismounts by swinging a leg over and sliding down the animal's side.[6][7]
They move on hooves that clomp, chirp when urged forward, bleat when startled, wheeze when overloaded, and blink without much expression at their riders.[1][6][8][4]
Temperament
Pergonzias are grazers first. They will pick at weeds, grass and whatever vegetation grows through the sand, and one parked at a full trough is unlikely to move at all, though Tab still ties Nupika up out of caution.[9][4] They yawn when woken, and Nupika had learned the route back to Tab's campsite well enough that Tab suspected she could find it unguided.[4]
They are loyal to their own riders. A Nelazgian holding Reagan Hideaway prisoner in the desert told her not to bother eyeing his mounts, since a pergonzia is not stupid enough to trust a rider who is not its own. Fire proved him wrong: when an explosion tore through the camp, the animals bolted regardless of who was on their backs, and Aero caught one by the tail and swung up onto it.[8]
Riders use a saddle, stirrups and reins, and tie satchels, bags and boxes along the animal's sides for a desert crossing.[1][6][4]
Speed
Speed is what pergonzias are for. Tab, being chased across the sand by a drovig with Reagan behind her, shouted into her mount's ear that it was supposed to be the fastest beast in Eslura, and the animal did outrun the worm once the load was cut away.[1] The comparison Barnaby Britto reaches for when Egras botches a landing and skids across a beach is a race pergonzia that has lost control.[10]
Weight tells against them. Carrying two riders and a full load of cargo, the pergonzia fleeing the drovig slowed to a jog and could not be driven faster until the boxes went over the side.[1]
At Varaar
Varaar keeps pergonzias in numbers. The stable attached to Varaar Colosseum by a bridge holds so many that Reagan first took the room in as hundreds of blinking eyes in the dark. They are confined in tight stalls, with the food bucket set just out of reach beyond the door so that they crane their necks at it with no hope of reaching it, standing in untended piles of hardened manure in sweltering heat.[6] Reagan and Tab stole two of them.[6][7]
Replacements are easy to come by. Abandoning her own pergonzias to flee an ambush, Tab reasoned that Varaar was about the easiest place in Eslura to get away with stealing more.[11]
The appendix's weekly races at the colosseum are not shown in the novels, which show the arena used for gang games and beast fights instead.[2][12]
Known pergonzias
- Nupika is Tab's mount in The Way Shadows Live, kept at a community grazing pen in Varaar and ridden south up the cliff path out of the canyon city to Tab's desert camp.[4]
Aero carries the head of a pergonzia plush toy in his pocket. It belonged to his sister Ferra Ellisvat and was all he found on her bed the night she was taken; the body fell off, and his attempt to sew it back on failed.[5]
Behind the scenes
The bestiary appendix at the back of both novels heads the entry PERGONZIA and annotates the illustration "zoom, zoom!" and "a true speed machine". Book 2 reprints Book 1's page unchanged.[2] The appendix letters the city name in lower case; the wiki uses Varaar. The pronunciation guide at the back of both novels lists the name under species.[13]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Book 1, Ch. 12.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Book 1, "The Many Creatures of Eslura".
- ↑ Book 1, Ch. 10.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Collection, "The Way Shadows Live".
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Book 2, Ch. 16.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Book 1, Ch. 14.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Book 1, Ch. 16.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Book 2, Ch. 20.
- ↑ Book 2, Ch. 4.
- ↑ Book 2, Ch. 18.
- ↑ Book 2, Ch. 10.
- ↑ Book 2, Ch. 13.
- ↑ Book 1.