2025 Apr 6: Beavers

 It is a well-known fact that beavers that live to a hundred years old, become a bit magical. They start to grow, and by the time they are a hundred and twenty, they are the size of a hippo. The scholar Herocleitus reports a hundred-and-fifty-year-old beaver that was the size of an elephant, but Herocleitus is well known for repeating whatever he was told without checking if what he heard was the truth, or just a tall tale. These enormous rodents also learn to communicate by telepathy, and according to those who met them, they are every bit as cunning as a man.

The giant beavers usually stay with their family, though they greatly remodel both the dam and the den to suit their increased size. If both members of a breeding pair hit this venerable age, their offspring are born more intelligent that the average beaver, and these litters are capable of coordination that can put some militaries to shame. Usually though things don't get to that point, as only one giant beaver is usually enough to cause a significant alteration in the hydrology of the surrounding areas, usually prompting whoever lives there to go out and try to kill the offending beaver.

In the rare occasion giant beavers are left to their own devices, they usually become a powerful faction in the local area, and may be approached for boons, trade, or alliance. They desire hardwood and metals, as their powerful incisors are difficult to keep to length with just ordinary wood. They also like to trade in information, and since they speak the languages of the birds and the deer, they can be quite knowledgeable about local matters. In exchange they can offer their help, which may not sound like much, but every explorer of the untamed wilds should be able to find a use for a 5-10 ton beaver and its army of intelligent children.

It is not unheard of for such beavers to become revered as deities by people moving into the area, for an established colony is a formidable foe which few wish to anger.

 Photo by Jean Beaufort