Overview
The Red Deer is the largest beast the open moor keeps. It stands 1.07 m at the shoulder, moves through the tall grass in a slow, rolling way, and it considers the herd a promise rather than a family. Where the herd goes, the grass knows it is watched, and the watching is the whole of the deer's own, because the deer that keeps the herd keeps the moor, and the moor is the deer's own.
Habitat
The Red Deer keeps the wide, open ground of The Grassy Steppe — the tall grass and the running water and the long, unbroken horizon. It is the steppe's own, and the steppe is the deer's, and the deer keeps the steppe the way the steppe keeps its grass. It needs three things: grass that does not fail, water that does not freeze, and a horizon wide enough for the herd to see the frost before it comes. It is settled with the grass and the water, and the herd moves with the season — out to the open in the green months, back to the sheltered ground by the first cold — because the herd that has not moved with the grass has moved without the grass, and the moving without the grass is the whole of the hunger.
Appearance
The Red Deer is the tall, rolling shape — long in the body, high in the shoulder, with the neck set back and the head carried low, and the whole of it reading as one long line from muzzle to rump. The stag stands 1.07 m at the shoulder and carries 220 kg to 240 kg, broad through the chest and the hindquarters, heavy with the antler and the voice that barks when it is in the rut; the hind stands 1.02 m, 150 kg to 175 kg, finer through the neck, lighter in the step, with a nose that finds the frost a day before the weather does. The coat is a deep russet-brown in the summer, dense and warm, and it turns iron-grey by the first frost, the muzzle darkening to a black mask that reads as a shadow at a distance. The eye is wide, dark, and placed to see almost all the way around, and it does not glow. The stag's antler is bone, not horn — one beam on each side, three tines, and a broad palm at the end like a hand of bone — and it grows, sheds, and grows again every year, and a stag is counted by his antler the way a ship is counted by its beam. The stag carries the line in the shoulder and the antler; the hind carries it in the nose and the step. Elders are marked by a coat gone grey-brown at the flanks and, in the stag, a palm worn thin and honest — an old deer is one the herd still follows, because the herd that has followed an old deer once follows it always. The herd wears no clothing, and the not-wearing is the whole of the deer's own, because the deer that is the steppe's own does not wear the steppe's own.
Behaviour
The Red Deer is the slow, rolling thing, and the rolling is the whole of the behaviour. It does not run the way the hare runs, and it does not need to, because the moor is wide and the herd is together and the hunter learns the paths before the deer does. It is calm at the peace, and the calm is the whole of the law, because the deer that is calm is the deer the eye does not count. In the rut the stag is a different animal — the voice barks, the antler is raised, and the stag that holds the largest palm holds the herd — and the rut is the whole of the argument, because the argument is the whole of the season. The herd moves with the grass and the frost, and it crosses the same old paths the way a river keeps its bed, and the keeping of the bed is the whole of the memory, because the herd that has crossed a path once crosses it always. A single signature quirk: the stag lifts his head when the air changes, and when the stag lifts his head, the herd stops — the stopping is the whole of the law, because the herd that has stopped at the lifted head is the herd that does not run into the cold.
Natural Weapons & Defenses
The antler is the mark, and the antler is the whole of the taking. It is bone, and it is heavy, and it carries the three tines and the broad palm, and the stag that raises the antler raises the whole of the argument. The hind has no antler, and the not-having is the whole of the defense, because the hind that has no antler has the nose and the startle, and the startle is faster than the eye. The herd is the defense, and the herd is wide, and the wide is the whole of the defense, because the herd that is wide is the herd the eye cannot measure. The deer does not fight the small thing, and the small thing does not find the deer, and the not-finding is the whole of the law, because the deer that is the steppe's own is the deer the eye does not count.
Magic Alignment
Innate only — no school. The Red Deer has the Herd-Sense — the nose that finds the frost before the weather does, and the finding is the whole of the memory. It has the Rut-Voice — the bark of the stag that holds the herd, and the holding is the whole of the argument. It has the Long-Leg — the rolling gait that crosses the open ground without breaking, and the crossing is the whole of the keeping. The deer has no word, and the word is not the deer's, and the not-being is the whole of the deer's own.
Society
The Red Deer is the herd thing, and the herd is the whole of the family. The herd is not a family the way the wolf pack is a family — it is a promise, and the promise is the whole of the herd — because the herd that keeps the promise is the herd the grass does not fail. The best nose leads, not the biggest antler, and the leading by the nose is the whole of the law, because the herd that follows the best nose is the herd that does not run into the cold. The stag holds the herd in the rut, and the holding is the whole of the argument. There is no lair, and the not-having is the whole of the deer's own, because the deer that is the steppe's own does not keep a lair, and the not-keeping is the whole of the law.
Culture & Lore
The steppe's folk count the deer by the herd at the edge of the moor. A herd at the edge means the grass is still safe, and the safe is the whole of the promise. A single stag standing apart means the herd has been counted, and the counting has gone badly, and the badly is the whole of the warning. The hunter does not take the stag in the rut, and the not-taking is the whole of the law, because the stag in the rut is the argument of the season, and the argument is the whole of the moor. The old ones say the deer is the steppe's own, and the steppe's own is the steppe's promise, and the promise is the deer's, and the deer keeps it the way the steppe keeps its grass.
Home
They keep The Grassy Steppe, the wide, open plain of tall grass and running water, where the herd moves with the season and the grass knows it is watched. The steppe is the deer's own, and the deer's own is the steppe.
Relations
The Red Deer is the steppe's own, and the steppe's folk keep their distance at the herd-line, and the distance is the whole of the law, because the deer that is the steppe's own is the steppe's own. The The Grassy Steppe's centaurs ride with the herd, and the riding is the whole of the bond, because the herd that the centaurs ride with is the herd the centaurs keep. The hunters of the steppe take the hind in the green months and not the stag in the rut, and the not-taking is the whole of the law. The Forgotten of the steppe keep the herd as the steppe's promise, and the keeping is the whole of the bond, because the herd that is the steppe's own is the one the steppe keeps.
In the Story
In the current story, the Red Deer is the promise on the steppe — the herd Uaellaen writes about when the grass is the deer's. The Forgotten keep their distance at the herd-line, and the distance has held for two seasons. This season a single stag stood apart from the herd at the edge of the moor, and the standing-apart is the whole of the warning, because the stag that stands apart is the stag the herd has counted, and the counting has gone badly. The herd is keeping the promise, and the keeping is the page the camp has not been shown.