Cliffdivers

Cliffdivers are a large speices used as flying mounts by several factions in the New World.

Biology

Large flying creatures ranging from five to fifteen feet long, not including the streamer-like thin tail that extends considerably past that, these creatures seem to make their homes atop rocky sea stacks and high cliffs, diving into the water to catch fish and retreating back up to safety to eat their catch. You have observed them hunting small birds.

Unlike most creatures you have seen so far, these are feathered with long thing wings, a pair of powerful hind legs with long claws seemingly designed for grasping large prey, and two sets of much smaller clawed forelegs they seem to use for manipulation. They have long thin necks, and their small heads have a pair of long fluffy ears extending from the back.

Cliff divers nest on top of enormous rocky pillars in the middle of the ocean, making their home in the strange biome above the clouds, where they make large depressions in the soil and rock in less densely forested areas to raise their young. Having litters generally between six and ten pups, they seem to parent in turns, one parent watching over the nest as the other hunts, though in rare cases you have seen both leave the nest for a short while. Here and there you see nests with only one parent that are left alone for longer, they seem to house significantly fewer pups. More rarely, you observe the parents push a pup out of the nest, generally smaller ones, and prevent them from returning. Without food or shelter, they quickly die.

The time after the long storms seems to be their nesting season, as you do not see any cliff divers without nests of pups. Attempting to approach a nest will cause the cliff diver watching it to rear up and beat its wings at the interloper if this does not discourage the potential threat they will attack. This behaviour is not limited to the occupant of the nest, as nearby cliff divers will do the same.

Notable Cliffdivers

Viper - Karmic's personal mount

Sir Flufflies - Spot's pet and companion