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Quick Facts: An impossibly long-legged predator at home in marshy areas.
Height: up to 4.5 feet at the shoulder
Width: up to 1 foot.
Length: up to 5 feet (with tail)
Weight: up to 150 pounds
Native to: Rhakros, Desnind and Argos
Locations: Southern and Western Idalos
Appearance: While not technically related, Fell Foxes appear like tall, dark foxes with disproportionately long legs. Their coat is invariably black along their back, lightening to a shade ranging from dark blue to purple and barely into the red towards their faces and belly and turning black again from the knee down. Their triangular heads feature large, pointy ears and powerful muzzles armed with the teeth of a predator. A swooping bushy tail rounds out the list of vulpine similarities.
Habitat: Wet and forested regions of Idalos' temperate regions. Fell Foxes seem averse to both extreme heat and extreme cold and avoid open ground. A few have been spotted moving about some of the smaller towns at light, though such reports are extremely rare.
Fell Foxes tend to stick to the same hunting grounds for the entirety of their life. They mark several sleeping spots in hard to reach spots such as in the midst of briar or bramble. Their urine is so vitriolic as to clear a patch inside the plants where they can bed down safe and unseen during the day. When their cubs are newly born, Fell Foxes will dig a burrow for them where they'll stay throughout their first cold cycle.
Lifespan and Development: Fell Foxes mate for life. Coupling between mated pairs can happen anywhere between Vhalar and Cylus with gestation lasting between 60 and 65 Trials. Newborn Fell Fox cubs are completely black, their fur only lightening as they grow into adulthood.
This happens over the next two arcs upon which the parents will eventually drive them from their territory. In areas where Fell Foxes prosper, the Rebirth Cycle tends to see migrations of 'Foxes Errant' in which young Fell Foxes dare to travel by day as they seek a territory of their own, and this is when most sightings take place. There is however no known account of a Fell Fox attacking a human.
Captive Fell Foxes have lived to be 30 Arcs old. It's assumed that their natural lifespan in the wild could be even longer.
Diet: Omnivorous, with meat making up about half of their diet and coming predominantly from fresh kills. On the hunt, mated Fell Fox pairs tend to work in tandem. They're possessed of a vicious cunning and their dark coloration affords them a modicum of camouflage at night. Their prey tends to range from rabbits to medium-sized animals such as goats or sheep but a pair of Fell Foxes can also easily bring down a cow.
With regard to plants they demonstrate a sweet tooth and a penchant for berries and other fruit. Due to their size they have little problems snatching apples or other fruit from trees. Only in winter will they seek out and dig up tubers or edible roots.
Temperament: Fell Foxes are alert stalkers. Their temperament is probably best described as calculating. With good eyesight, a better sense of smell and even better hearing
Abilities: Fell Foxes are exceedingly enduring runners, able to tire prey. They're also quite cunning, trying to maneuver prey into areas where their mobility is hindered while the long-legged Fell Foxes stalk unimpeded.
They communicate with one another using their very peculiar-smelling urine, marking their territory but also denoting good hunting spots, patrol routes and other points of interest for their partners and offspring. A gland in their excretory system allows subtle adjustments to the odor that other fell foxes can "read" regarding these additional tidbits of information. With enough experience and knowledge, even humanoids can learn to detect and read these slight changes.
Fell Foxes can see in low light conditions by enlarging their pupils to almost the degree that a cat might, and their sense of scent is equally as developed. Their large ears are their main hunting implements, allowing them to pinpoint prey within their forests where eyesight won't help much.
The yelp of a newborn Fell Fox cub sounds eerily reminiscent of a human baby, but this quality peters out quickly. This similarity has however spawned countless tales of Fell Foxes stealing human babies as well as one about a man hearing a baby cry in the woods and instead finding what he thought was a fox cub.
Credit: Cassian Gawyne
