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Description

As a species that has achieved its form through selective breeding and domestication, it should be no surprise that Nectar Cows have some variety to them. With them being reared all across the land, it is inevitable that someone or something will make enough changes to their herd that a new breed will slowly begin to form. Nectar Cows have several different breeds, each adapted to a certain role or designed to better create a certain resource. How one goes about making these breeds, I am not really sure, as I am more informed on the rules of the wild. One thing I know for certain is that it is not a fast process! Anytime you see a different breed of...well, anything, just know it took decades to do! The time and effort to do such thing is incredible, so I am sure to show respect to those who have done this hard work to help make all our lives a little easier.

The breed being mentioned here is known as the Crescent Horn and the origin of this name should be blatantly obvious. The headgear of the regular Nectar Cow has been built up into some serious weaponry with this breed! The hard tubes and growths across their body have grown sharper and nastier, and they have developed massive horn-like structures! Even outside of these noxious spitting orifices, the whole insect has gained a spiky coating and an intimidating red coat. This look has caused some humans to refer to this breed as "demon aphids," a comparison I hope is based solely on the visual and not behavioral. Crescent Horns also differ from regular Nectar Cows in their attitude, in that they are much more active and a bit more aggressive. Nectar Cows are content to stand and graze, only bothering to move if the food runs out. When a threat shows up, they just stand there and spew out their nasty spray to hopefully drive foes away. For Crescent Horns, they tend to roam about more as they feed, and they aren't so passive when it comes to defense. They still possess the foul mist, but its amount and potency has been reduced. Instead, they rely on a more physical approach. They will rush foes with their "horns" and seek to skewer them on their many barbs. Crescent Horns very much try to gore and crush their attackers, and can be relentless in their fighting. They seem to hunger for battle sometimes, with adult Crescent Horns butting heads with one another if they have a dispute or are simply bored. Having your livestock be this aggressive and dangerous seems a bit detrimental to the farmer, but there is a purpose to this!

I made mention before that the Crescent Horns have a reduced ability to spray out their defensive juices, and this is due to the specialized organs themselves being reduced. This was not done by accident, as the original farmers were trying to breed out these sacs in order to cut down on the amount of noxious juice they make. You see, when it comes to harvesting the meat, one has to be careful with cutting. These organs house the gross fluid, and one wrong slice can split it open and have it soak into the meat. Rather than doing all the extra work to remove them, the farmers were hoping to simply breed them out or at least cut down on their potency. As they worked on this goal, the insects themselves started to show some new features. They seemed to become more aggressive and irritable as the project went on, and it was soon realized that it was due to them losing a major weapon. Without their signature spray, they had to fight off threats physically, and thus the direction towards larger spikes and "horns." At first, this was seen as a bad thing, but once this developing breed started chasing off predators and protecting the herd, they realized there was another use. The Crescent Horns can serve as guards for herds of other Nectar Cows, as they are more vigilante, active and prone to attacking things that are suspicious. Farmers don't have to worry as much about predators sneaking in, as they now have round the clock protection through this breed. So even herds of regular Nectar Cows or other breeds may have a few Crescent Horns amongst them, keeping carnivores and even thieves away! If you are ever thinking about stealing someone's livestock, you best make sure there isn't one of these beasts around! If there is one and you enter the pen, you better pray that the authorities arrest you first, before they have to peel you off the ground.

Crescent Horns aren't just for guarding, as the original intent of reducing the spray sacs has indeed worked. Crescent Horns can also be kept for meat, with their breed being preferred for such a market. Yes, they can still produce honey dew and eggs, but their meat is the real prize. The lack of noxious organs makes for easier butchering and less waste, and it has also changed the taste of the meat. People swear there is a subtle difference, but I couldn't really tell you. After weeks out in the wild on simple supplies and rations, I will happily wolf down anything in front of me without a second thought. Ignoring my simple tastes, others say that Crescent Horn meat has a better flavor and a better quality to their meat, making it a more high end food. So if you went into a restaurant and had a choice between the two, know that the Crescent Horn option will be more expensive. Due to its higher price and supposedly better flavor, this meat is used more often as itself and rarely an additive. What I mean is that you would buy this meat to season and cook up, then serve as is, kind of like steak. You could certainly put it into meat pies or stick it on a bun, but the more a chef buries this meat beneath ingredients and extra bits, the more the critics well bemoan its waste. This is not a meat you shred up and dump into a thick, busy stew, or at least this is what most people think. You serve me Crescent Horn meat in any fashion and I will be happy. I would eat it even if you threw it on the ground, though I would prefer you didn't!

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are different kinds of aphids and different kinds of cows, so lets start slapping them together!

Description

As a species that has achieved its form through selective breeding and domestication, it should be no surprise that Nectar Cows have some variety to them. With them being reared all across the land, it is inevitable that someone or something will make enough changes to their herd that a new breed will slowly begin to form. Nectar Cows have several different breeds, each adapted to a certain role or designed to better create a certain resource. How one goes about making these breeds, I am not really sure, as I am more informed on the rules of the wild. One thing I know for certain is that it is not a fast process! Anytime you see a different breed of...well, anything, just know it took decades to do! The time and effort to do such thing is incredible, so I am sure to show respect to those who have done this hard work to help make all our lives a little easier.

The breed being mentioned here is known as the Crescent Horn and the origin of this name should be blatantly obvious. The headgear of the regular Nectar Cow has been built up into some serious weaponry with this breed! The hard tubes and growths across their body have grown sharper and nastier, and they have developed massive horn-like structures! Even outside of these noxious spitting orifices, the whole insect has gained a spiky coating and an intimidating red coat. This look has caused some humans to refer to this breed as "demon aphids," a comparison I hope is based solely on the visual and not behavioral. Crescent Horns also differ from regular Nectar Cows in their attitude, in that they are much more active and a bit more aggressive. Nectar Cows are content to stand and graze, only bothering to move if the food runs out. When a threat shows up, they just stand there and spew out their nasty spray to hopefully drive foes away. For Crescent Horns, they tend to roam about more as they feed, and they aren't so passive when it comes to defense. They still possess the foul mist, but its amount and potency has been reduced. Instead, they rely on a more physical approach. They will rush foes with their "horns" and seek to skewer them on their many barbs. Crescent Horns very much try to gore and crush their attackers, and can be relentless in their fighting. They seem to hunger for battle sometimes, with adult Crescent Horns butting heads with one another if they have a dispute or are simply bored. Having your livestock be this aggressive and dangerous seems a bit detrimental to the farmer, but there is a purpose to this!

I made mention before that the Crescent Horns have a reduced ability to spray out their defensive juices, and this is due to the specialized organs themselves being reduced. This was not done by accident, as the original farmers were trying to breed out these sacs in order to cut down on the amount of noxious juice they make. You see, when it comes to harvesting the meat, one has to be careful with cutting. These organs house the gross fluid, and one wrong slice can split it open and have it soak into the meat. Rather than doing all the extra work to remove them, the farmers were hoping to simply breed them out or at least cut down on their potency. As they worked on this goal, the insects themselves started to show some new features. They seemed to become more aggressive and irritable as the project went on, and it was soon realized that it was due to them losing a major weapon. Without their signature spray, they had to fight off threats physically, and thus the direction towards larger spikes and "horns." At first, this was seen as a bad thing, but once this developing breed started chasing off predators and protecting the herd, they realized there was another use. The Crescent Horns can serve as guards for herds of other Nectar Cows, as they are more vigilante, active and prone to attacking things that are suspicious. Farmers don't have to worry as much about predators sneaking in, as they now have round the clock protection through this breed. So even herds of regular Nectar Cows or other breeds may have a few Crescent Horns amongst them, keeping carnivores and even thieves away! If you are ever thinking about stealing someone's livestock, you best make sure there isn't one of these beasts around! If there is one and you enter the pen, you better pray that the authorities arrest you first, before they have to peel you off the ground.

Crescent Horns aren't just for guarding, as the original intent of reducing the spray sacs has indeed worked. Crescent Horns can also be kept for meat, with their breed being preferred for such a market. Yes, they can still produce honey dew and eggs, but their meat is the real prize. The lack of noxious organs makes for easier butchering and less waste, and it has also changed the taste of the meat. People swear there is a subtle difference, but I couldn't really tell you. After weeks out in the wild on simple supplies and rations, I will happily wolf down anything in front of me without a second thought. Ignoring my simple tastes, others say that Crescent Horn meat has a better flavor and a better quality to their meat, making it a more high end food. So if you went into a restaurant and had a choice between the two, know that the Crescent Horn option will be more expensive. Due to its higher price and supposedly better flavor, this meat is used more often as itself and rarely an additive. What I mean is that you would buy this meat to season and cook up, then serve as is, kind of like steak. You could certainly put it into meat pies or stick it on a bun, but the more a chef buries this meat beneath ingredients and extra bits, the more the critics well bemoan its waste. This is not a meat you shred up and dump into a thick, busy stew, or at least this is what most people think. You serve me Crescent Horn meat in any fashion and I will be happy. I would eat it even if you threw it on the ground, though I would prefer you didn't!

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are different kinds of aphids and different kinds of cows, so lets start slapping them together!