Argali

“I saw an old man with a long grey beard

Come wandering o’er the Teeth.

His hooves were quick and his coat was thick

And his horns were a curling wreath.

One of the best known and least seen creatures in all of Goran is the famed Argali sheep. Found exclusively in the isolated reaches of the Teeth, these enormous herd animals share their mountainside homes with only the sturdiest of shepherds. This distinction rests with the mountainfolk of Trosk, who over the past nine centuries have kept and bred flocks of Argali passed from eldest son to eldest son. As a result, Argali wool is a rare and lauded commodity throughout much of western and northwestern Goran. A single pound of wool from the Teeth has been known to sell for as much as two gold sols. It spins and dyes singularly well, and repels moisture to a considerable degree. It is even rumoured that King Maheadron Amenthis gifted his queen a full shawl knitted from Argali wool on the eve of their first Yuletide together. Besides possessing some of the thickest, softest wool of all Gorian sheep—a necessity for braving the cold winters of the Teeth—Argali are also popular for their rich depth of colouration. Males can be grey, brown, black, or any combination of the three. Females can display any of these colours, with the added variety of fawn and even russet red. One of the Argali’s most distinctive features, however, are the long, dramatically curling horns of the rams. One of the oldest males ever documented was said to have had horns which curved back on themselves three times over. These horns have debatably proven medicinal properties, many of which have been employed by the Wise Women of Trosk for generations.

Although they are an excellent source of income for the mountainfolk, the practice of herding Argali has seen a decline in recent years. These hardy climbers graze best on the lichen which grows in the highest, most treacherous reaches of the Teeth. Fewer and fewer households in Trosk are willing to risk their folk to such extreme shepherding. Climbing fatalities have until fairly recent generations been an accepted part of life for shepherds. Nevertheless, Argali wool was and continues to be the chief export from the Teeth (with perhaps the exception of ore mining and stone quarrying in the western and southern foothills). If anything, the decrease in the number of domesticated flocks has only driven up the value of Argali wool in the cities. And as long as there are buyers eager to pay good coin for a thick skein of tricoloured wool, it seems fair to assume that there will always be at least a few mountainfolk daring enough to risk the bite of the Teeth.