The king hog

King Hog
The hog compared to it’s wolf vassals and a human in size.
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Entelodontidae
Family:	Entelodon
Genus:	Astersvin
Species:	A.Mo
Binomial name
Astersvin Mo Hylfred Görenssen, 1785
Habitat

The king hog “Khönungasvin” in Imerian and “goi mo” in the native Tou language which literally translates into “Laughing prince” is the largest apex predator in Asterland. However despite it’s role as an apex predator is it still a generalist omnivore and able to feed on most sources of food and a single hog might feed on berries and fruits, scavenge fallen animals and hunt either the large mammoth or muskoxen herds but could also go after solidary rhinos that one can find on the northern asterland plains. While being a soldiary animal they are also known to travel with an entourage of stepping wolves and ravens that integrates the hog into their pack. This mutual protection is what has given the hog the title king in most languages and most federals draw similarities between the king hog and their own aristocratic order, seeing it even replicated in nature which has made the hog looked upon quite favorable by most people's contrary to how large predators that hunt humans and their herds tend to be looked upon elsewhere.

Etymology

The king hog as the common and Scanderan names call it is a direct translation of the native name the Goi Mo. It is assumed by most people in the federation that it was so named due to the court they surround themselves with and tributes they demand from humans.

History

The King Hog is looked upon very favorably by most federal cultures and it is generally only those that live next to their territories that take a slightly dimmer view to the large beasts. They feature prominently in federal heraldry and besides wolves, eagles, lions, and bullfinches are the king hog, the most popular animal coat of arms emblazoned on heraldic emblems, a survey made by the college of heraldry found.

Historically, the beast also has been very important for the Tou as their native pantheon hold that their chief deity is a king hog with the face of a human and their temple mounds often includes large depiction of the king hog and hog skeleton parts are commonly displayed as offering to the great God. Furthermore it is said that their ancient founding hero Kai Mo that unified the tribes and created a large empire was said to have taken to riding a hog that found him as a child on the plain. This great hero is generally considered the ancestor of the entire Tou aristocracy and through marriage can the Stjärnkhrone dynasty also trace their lineage to this hero of old. Though they are not the senior branch of his descendants as they are with other heroic figures.

Sacrifices are very commonly made to the king Hog by both Scanderan settlers on the western shores and by the tribal Tou themselves, often made by leaving barrels of mead and cider with fruit, berries, and meat at monoliths raised for such things. The Hogs are smart enough to remember these locations and have been noted to travel to these monoliths on holy days when sacrifices are made to accept supplication from the humans. This was a practice that the Scanderans adapted from the Tou but it is not unmodified as in ancient days did these sacrifices also include human sacrifice as a daughter of the aristocracy and a young warrior was included in these sacrifices. These sacrifices could be made by the tribes from their own members but it was equally common to demand sacrifices as tributes from subservient tribes or just to take them as part of the raiding that happened on the steppe. Due to Scanderan cultural influence did this over time change to as and more importance was placed on the warrior also being young and a virgin. However it was a practice that faded away as Scanderan influence was strengthened in the region and outlawed by royal command. Especially chivalric tales from the Scanderans in Asterland, is it a common motif for a noble hero to save a potential love interest and squire from such sacrifices. However in distant parts of the federation it is still rumored that such sacrifices are carried out.

At least one stjärnkhrone king Primus rex Stjärnkhrone VIII was known to have a tame Hog as his personal war mount and was able to bond with it, this beast known as Giruld the king slayer was raised with the king when he was but a prince and served his master well over the years. However when Primus VIII died his son Haghald rex Stjärnkhrone I the silverborn tried to claim his right to rule by mounting his father’s steed. The hog became enraged and slew the young man. Instead the crown passed to the eldest son of Primus VIII, Sighmund rex Stjärnkhrone I, and the hog guilty of kingslaying was put down and placed as a funeral offering to its old king, making sure that the hog would reunite with it’s bellowed monarch in the afterlife.

Reproduction

A male territory overlaps the territory of several females and when a female is in heat she will call out to bring the male to her. The male will automatically have the right to breed and does not need to either impress the female as keeping his own territory is more than enough proof that he is of good stock. Pregnancy can last up to two years and it takes a hoglet a decade to reach maturity.

Diet

The king hog is like most of its fellow entelodonts an omnivore, while the majority of it’s caloric intake comes from meat which can be either carrion or prey it has slain itself is it not unknown for the king hog to eat fruits and berries and dig for roots either. This is not something done only in times of hardship and is a regular part of the hogs diet.

While it as a general rule prefers to hunt larger prey like mammoth, rhino, or oxen is it not unknown or even rare for it to attack smaller animals either, this can include humans but such attacks tend to come from wandering hogs that has not established a territory just yet or young ones that has just recently established a territory, when a hog has settled down and they learn where human settlements are to be found or where offerings are made do they tend to prefer to approach such areas to demand their fill.

Behaviour

The king hog is a very intelligent creature able to remember where human settlements are and even what it must do to be provided with offerings. Most researchers have suggested that its intelligence could be compared to that of an elephant. What however makes it stand out amongst most Scanderan animals is the alliance it has formed with ravens and the so-called stepping wolf. A canine with unusually long legs that follow the king hog in its wanderings. These bonds tend to be very stable and a king hog has a pack of wolves it bonds with for the entirety of its life. This gives the hog the benefit of having animals that can help it hunt and isolate mammoths and drive prey to the hog that can slay it but even the excellent smell of the wolves is a great asset for the hog. Similarly, the eyes of the ravens also help the hog in its wanderings.

In return does the hog provide protection for the wolves and it allows them to eat first from any kill it brings down, a custom that many federal peoples have likened to the gift giving expected of nobility to their retainers and vassals. When the wolves have eaten does the hog take its fill. When the wolves hunt alone they are also known to bring their prey to the hog and offer up part of their hunt to the hog first before they take their fill. This is also generally seen in federal cultures similarly to how human vassals and commoners pay homage to liege lords. But this relationship does not seem to be only transactionary as hogs and wolves bond with one another. The large hogs have been documented several times to play with wolf pups and raven chicks leading to humorous situations where the mammoth sized predator is being chased by a litter of pups and chicks. Researchers have suggested that this helps the raven and wolf young to learn to hunt and guide large prey in the future but it’s a popular motif in at the very least children’s stories featuring the hogs in the federation.

On average are hogs very territorial and require huge swaths of lands that they patrol with males tending to have larger territories that encompasses the territories of several females, these however must be large enough that they can feed the male but also not deplete the region to make the female unable to feed herself. This large territory meant that it was up until recently assumed that the males were entirely nomadic creatures. Hogs young tend to stay with their mother for up to 10 years, first following their mother around, and then joining the wolves on their hunts until it reaches adulthood when the mother drives the child away and starts to signal that she is ready for mating. A young hog must then wander until it can establish a territory of its own dispersing all over the continent. During these wanderings is when they tend to also form an alliance with their pack of wolves if they can find one that has not sworn fealty to a hog of their own. As a matter of fact, it has been documented that hogs tend not to establish territories until they have bonded with a pack of wolves, even being willing to ignore prime territory a young hog could claim.

They are very vocal creatures communicating with a deep bellowing laughter that can be heard for miles, something that the wolves and ravens respond to in a crackling laughter of their own. This means that on the open steppe it is very common to hear a distant but audible laughter ring out and the peoples of the Asterland plains say that one should not approach laughter. This can be especially true because a hog will be very aggressive if one approaches it and it’s around wolf pups which will cause the behemoth and its entourage to attack to defend the young.

The only animal that can threaten a hog on the plain is a dragon and dragons are well known to approach hogs to drive them off from a kill or even attack and kill hogs if they are too close to a dragon’s nest. However the dragon’s superiority is only guaranteed if it can fly and use its poisonous breath will a hog be able to grapple or ground a dragon will the fight almost entirely be won by the great entelodont. This has caused hogs that find dragons encouraging on their territory to send out their wolves to track the dragon down. When its cave nesting zone has been found will the hog set off and attempt to storm the cave resulting in a titanic battle similar to that between great Scanderan cave bears and the Scanderan dragons where large mammals wrestle the flying reptiles.

This in turn has caused at least eastern dragons to have an intrinsic hatred towards stepping wolves and dragons of the east are known to attack and kill wolf packs if they find them in the wild. Something not common in Scanderan or southern dragons.

Life expectancy

A hog can in the wild be known to reach 60 years old but hogs in captivity have been documented to reach a century of age, however only rarely.