Node Tortoise
The Node Tortoise is a strange species of tortoise rarely seen in the habited part of the island.
Description
The Node Tortoise is a land animal quite similar to the Galapagos Tortoise. The tortoise stands a couple feet tall and around 5-6ft in length and weighing several hundred pounds. They have short, stumpy legs covered in scales usually a dull, dusty green color. Abnormalities have rare varients in shades of brown. They have a medium length, and like other tortoise and turtle species can draw their head and limbs inside their shells for protection. The real oddity of these creatures are their shells. The young and/or recently mature tortoises' shells usually are a dull brown with the underside a dull yellow or cream color. This changes as they age, due to their unique nature of seeming to absorb the latent magical energy in the land around them. As they absorb magical energy their shells tend to grow in strange and unique shapes; no two tortoise shells look the same because of this. Some grow spike-like protuberances, others ripples or swells looking like little hills but really there's no set design. Their colors also tend to shift, though generally the colors remain dull. No one is quite sure what exactly causes the color shift, some suspect it's the type of magical energy the tortoise's absorb but experiments have proven that false. However the colors change, as they get older their shells lose all pigmentation and become silver-white with sometimes traces of grey.
Habitat, Diet, and Behavior
The Node Tortoise tend to favor the areas like the foothills and even mountains. Generally more of the open areas on the island, also close to the beach. It's rare to see one around the village and habited area of the forest though, more often seen toward the west side of the island. A small population has either been brought or naturally migrated into Underhill. They're slow moving, relying on their incredibly durable shells for protection by drawing in their arms and legs if they sense a predator near. The tortoise is a herbivore; favoring grass, low plants, and bushes. They have incredibly slow metabolisms, going for several months at a time without eating if need be. During the winter this ability comes in handy as they tend to hibernate near rocky outcroppings or the bases of the mountains, digging shallow divots to rest in so only their shells are visible. They'll often drink large quantities of water a time, storing it in themselves for later. They also will sometimes withdraw in their shells while resting in shallow water as a kind of camouflage. After mating the pair split with the pregnant tortoise laying eggs usually in shallow pits near the base of rocky outcroppings and mountains. They can lay up to as many as twelve eggs and bury them once laid packing down the soil and sealing them in. The young tortoises have to dig their way out after hatching and have to fend for themselves, usually becoming prey to the island's predators.
The tortoise's unique ability of absorbing magical energy seems to be an affect of wild magic on the island mutating the species long ago. It doesn't seem like they use this energy, but many believe it's at least part of their longevity, or at least enhanced it. The oldest recorded specimen was believed to be around 700 years old, its skin a dull grey and shell pure white. Those who know of the species consider them a moving fount of magical energy. That's where they got their names, their unconscious ability to absorb and store magical energy making them living, moving nodes of power to draw upon.
Additional Information
Some people have tried riding the tortoises, training them as pets though this usually doesn't work well. The best that can be managed is using the 'stick and carrot' method to lead the tortoise where the rider wants to go, though being such a slow creature this method of travel was used as a novelty. Some of the native pixies have taken to claiming the shell of a tortoise as a house, building shelters on top of the creature to live on. It's believed, aside from the novelty of a moving tortoise house, that the ever growing node of magical energy stored in the creature draws the pixies to it. There have even been reports of pixies using them as places for parties, taking the party wherever the tortoise wanders. The shells of dead tortoises are left well after the body as crumbled or been taken by scavengers. Ones that are found often become decorations for yards. While the shells don't continue to absorb magical energy, they still retain a good portion of the energy the tortoise had stored at its death, which also makes them a valuable commodity. There are even rare reports of highly skilled craftsmen creating armor from the shells.