The Swine God

    Vast herds of boar inhabit Lin, dangerous enough for humans armed only with flint or bronze. But the Yeng have managed to hold their own and slowly press forward, driving the herds before them.

    Angered at the loss of their territory, the boars retreated further into the sanctuary of the trees. Rooting about for truffles and fallen acorns, they murmured their complaints to the earth. And somehow, in her silent yet restless slumber, she heard.

    The Swine God ripped its own way out of its mother's womb. After draining the corpse of its blood, it went to the nearest sow, drove off her young and suckled milk from her. The beast grew rapidly and soon was the undisputed leader of the largest herd.

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    Thu Khar, the Swine God, the Iron Boar, stands ten feet high at the shoulder and is nearly eighteen feet in length. Three tusks grow on the right side of its snout and two on the left, all dagger-sharp. Its saliva will cause burns to human skin and damage to the eyes. Its hoofs are caked in blood and there is always a swarm of flies about it. Its sides and flanks are plated with a thicker hide nearly impervious to most weapons. Visually they resemble the skin of a rhinoceros but with a faintly metallic sheen. The rest of it is covered in shaggy, matted fur, black save for a rust-colored mane along the head and spine. A great stench precedes it and lingers in its wake.

    As long as its heart is intact and its body is in contact with the earth, Thu Khar will heal rapidly. (Note that severed pieces of the beast do not count toward this.) The effect is more pronounced in the summer than in the winter. A cut or a stab will close and mend in a matter of seconds or minutes in the summer. In winter it could take up to a day. A limb or eye will regrow within a day during summer, but will take about a week or so in the winter. The head will take a week to regrow in summer and up to a month in winter. The body is inert while the head is gone or regrowing. During this time Thu Khar's remaining offspring and the herd will guard it ferociously.

    If the heart is damaged, the regeneration will focus on healing the heart first, provided the body has contact with the earth. Any natural ground counts as "earth" in this case. An artificial floor or pavement does not. A dirt road counts, a natural deposit of gravel counts, but a gravel road will not. If the heart is reduced to ashes or cut into chunks and separated, it will not regenerate. If there is a stake or blade through the heart, the heart will reform around it and begin operating again. Once the heart is reformed, the body will begin to heal itself as above.

    A corpse blade will cut through the armored hide almost effortlessly. The same goes for Ayis. A wound inflicted on the Iron Boar by Ayis will not regenerate, no matter what.

    The Swine God leads its forces in an unrelenting campaign against humanity. It wages war with an almost human intelligence, laying ambushes and crafting rudimentary traps. Those whom it slays, it eats.

    In its youth it mated prodigiously. (Now it is far too large for any sow, not that that stops it from trying.) Its children are about halfway between its size and that of a normal boar. They have similar armor and a variety of extra tusks, but not its healing ability. Some have split off to lead herds of their own, and are beginning to show signs of growing to their sire's image and size. Those still in its herd often lead scouting or raiding parties, or aid in the setting of traps.

    Thu Khar and its spawn seem able to communicate with each other and to a certain extent with the herd. It will not be possible for a player character to communicate with any of them, however, by any means.

    The Iron Boar has caused havoc for Yeng and tribesmen alike. The vastness of its herd has begun to exhaust the food supply of other animals in the region and even cause problems for the trees as the hungry swine damage bark and root. Its territory is to be avoided if possible, but it is always seeking to expand or shift its domain as vegetation gets eaten up. One way or another, the Swine God must be stopped.