Gruenberger species

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THE MOON RAM

Moon rams are commonly featured postcards and memorabilia.

The moon ram (Ovis lunar) is Gruenberg's national animal, and is known in Rukialkotta as Tak Blomberdun Kassafanion. It has been classified as an endangered species, and there are fewer than 10,000 specimens left in the wild. Hunting the ram is a capital offence, and crimes as seemingly slight as snipping off clips of wool can carry jail sentences. (Thought by some to possess magical charms, moon ram wool, horns and bone are highly-sought after lucky charms, and precious commodities - on the black market.)

The moon ram is in fact the male of the moon sheep species, and although ewes are not held in sacred regard, are extended the same legal protection. Its wool is thick and off-white, but can appear pale blue in darker light. Larger and more aggressive than normal rams, it is thought to be unique to Gruenberg. It is a herbivore, eating mainly grasses and bracken, but is also thought to be capable of digesting a variety of fruit and berries. Its dung, which commoners are legally allowed to collect (providing they avoid harassing the animal), consists of dark, hard pellets, and is largely tasteless and odourless. Loosened with water, it is used to paint decorative religious tokens, or incorporated into jewellery.

A cave painting of moon rams
The moon ram is believed to have inhabited Gruenberg for thousands of years: a number of references to it are purportedly made in the sacred texts of Wenaism. Its population was estimated at around 40,000 during the third century of the Gruenberg calendar. With tough meat and coarse wool, it was hunted mainly for spiritual reasons. This primitive cave painting, over 5,000 years old, shows a moon ram hunt in progress.

The moon ram's importance in Gruenberg is mainly on account of the Fable of the Shepherd. In The 192nd Year, two of the seven sacred texts still remained lost, and many believed they would never be found. Then, Gulgon Vonderbat, an impoverished widower who tended moon rams high on Hatash Myari, stumbled into The Holy City with two vast clay urns, inside which were found the ancient scripts. His story was that, tracking down a moon ram, he had come to the thin valley pass where the Four Sages had encountered their first vision of Wena. At that point, the spirit of Wena came down and entered the moon ram, guiding him to a concealed tunnel where the Sages had hidden the final two texts. Ever since then, the animal has been given holy status in Gruenberg. (In an unfortunate epilogue, Vonderbat was executed for attempting to read the Bazhtan writing.)

Once prevalent throughout Gruenberg, diminishing numbers and the relative isolation of the majority of the animals to the far north is usually attributed to over-hunting. However, many zoologists believe the expansion of industrialised agriculture in the late seventh century of the Gruenberg calendar may have played its part. The insecticide Reptacil (4,4,4-trichloromethyl benzyl thioniafrol) was widely sprayed. It is harmless in its own right, but when mixed with other common ammonia-based fertilizers is intensely toxic. Reptacil continues to be used, but in smaller doses as more efficient substances are developed.


PLANTS

Blibiot Nuts

These blibiot nuts are nearly ready to be picked

Blibiot nuts (Juglans blibioti) are members of the walnut family Juglandaceae unique to Gruenberg. They are mainly found in the forests of south-east Naffarron. The fruit is hard, wrinkled, and divided into four segments. It has no smell and a very mild, faintly sweet taste. In The 731st Year, 28,000 metric tons1 of blibiot nuts were harvested. The nuts are usually salted and sold on as snack goods. They are also incorporated into a wide range of Gruenberger recipes.


Klipa

Klipa (Falicarans klipata) is a tuber native to Gruenberg. They are smaller than potatoes, and have a tough, dark red skin, containing cream-coloured flesh. They are highly toxic when raw: consumption of uncooked klipa can cause severe kidney problems, and can prove fatal. Boiled, fried or roasted, they are however delicious, and form a staple part of many Gruenbergers' diets.

Raw klipa is highly toxic and should under no account be eaten

The klipa has been cultivated in Gruenberg for many hundreds of years. Able to survive in most soils, regardless of pH, elevation or hydration, they are popular crops for small-scale farmers. Industrial agriculture has tended to ignore them in favour of potatoes, which have proved more easily exportable than Gruenberg's relatively unknown native.


Mnerlash

Freshly picked mnerlashni are common ingredients in Gruenberger cookery

Mnerlash (Kaviscorum niantes) is a root vegetable uniquely grown in west Naffarron. Mnerlashni2 are relatively small with tapering creamy-white roots and large green leaves. They have a sharp, spicy taste and are popular in Gruenberger cuisine, usually diced and used to add flavour to stews and curries.

They have not proved to be popular abroad, however, and increasingly farmers are turning to more profitable crops. Mnerlash production dropped by nearly 7% in The 731st Year, with around 109,000 metric tons produced3. In his study of the changing face of Gruenberg's agricultural industry, For The Soil Shall Last4, Professor Peng Tinhoopridy, formerly of the University of Flurthwel, noted that "sad though it is...the Gruenberg that enters the latter half of this century will in all probability be one derived of its most ancient crop, the last tie to its simple past lost in the race for 'profit' and 'growth'".


Pintad

Pintad (Chorchorus gelziens) is a tough, long-stemmed fibrous crop of the Chorchorus genus. It is similar in appearance to Jute, but is darker in colour. Its fibres are coarse and possess unusually high tensile strength for fabrics. Pintad is grown almost exclusively in the Gelzien Nub, where it has for centuries been the staple cash-crop of Gelzien industry. It is incorporated into a wide range of fabric goods. In recent years, the Court has preferentially subsidised the cotton industry, leading to a slight decline in pintad production. However, in The 731st Year, 812,000 metric tons of pintad were farmed, an increase of 4% on the previous year5, and a number of pintad mills have reported that sales are picking up again after the slump of The 720s, with production of pintad textiles in The 731st Year reaching an all-time high of 467,000 metric tons, up nearly 3.5% on the previous year6.


ANIMALS

Gelzien Snap Shell

Gruenberger Fintail

Spliantes Carp

APPENDIX

  1. Source: Gruenberg State Department of Agriculture.
  2. The Rukialkotta word adds -ni in the plural, although they are often referred to as 'mnerlashes' by exporters.
  3. Source: Gruenberg State Department of Agriculture.
  4. For The Soil Shall Last (P. Tinhoopridy) Casckatt & Nifwein, The 726th Year, Flurthwel; p. 587. This hugely controversial book is banned in Gruenberg; Tinhoopridy was executed for writing it. A wealth of raw data accompanies his detailed analysis and it is certainly a hugely valuable text for those studying changes in farming practices, but at times his anti-Court vitriol spills over into unreliable exaggerations and opinionated claims.
  5. Source: Gruenberg State Department of Agriculture.
  6. Source: Yearbook Of Industrial Commodity Statistics, published by the Gruenberg State Institute for Research and Development.


OOC: RL credits for photographs on talk page.