Varosaur

Although the Dyari have access to land and air vehicles, these are primarily used only for the transportation of large quantities of goods or persons. For the individual, especially the more traditionally-minded or impoverished, the varosaur is the primary form of transportation, but they are far more than simple pack animals.

Before they were domesticated, and still today in some areas where they still roam wild, the varosaur and the Dyari were in constant competition for territory and resources, both being apex predators. They had much the same relationship the mankind had in ages past with the wolf.

Physically, they are imposing beasts, resembling various raptor type dinosaurs of ancient Earth in appearance, ranging from a dull rusty red (called dun), to a light green (called verdant), to a dark grey (called dusky). At the shoulder, they stand between a meter and a half and two meters in height and can run at great speeds for extended periods of time and are incredibly agile.

They are also capable of surviving extended periods of time without food or water and have natural nictitating membranes to protect their eyes from the harshest of dust storms. Unlike other reptiles, they are warm-blooded and can be quite long-lived, living approximately eighty Dyari years. In addition, they are quite intelligent creatures.

Though having been domesticated for several thousand years, varosaurs remain predatory carnivores and are not creatures to be taken lightly even by those most familiar with them. For a rider and their mount to work properly in tandem, there must be a real bond and trust between both of them. Thus, varosaurs are introduced to their riders at a very young age, usually hand reared by their riders who they will stay with for their entire lives.

To think of the rider as the “master” or “owner”, however, would be incorrect, as any Dyari could tell you. The relationship between a varosaur and a rider is one of mutual respect, trust, and love, a partnership between equals. As such, using a varosaur for such tasks as being a beast of burden or some such thing is a serious taboo.

Riding a varosaur also takes quite a lot of practice and training as the animal is capable of all manner of movements and riders to not us reins. Riders control their varosaurs only by use of their legs and bodies. A slight shifting of weight, a tilt of the head, a small amount of pressure applied with one leg in a certain place, and the varosaur will move as if an extension of the rider’s body. Naturally, the varosaur requires as much training as does its rider.