The Legend of the Rogos

This beast is not mentioned in the chronicles of Erikuria—they preferred not to write about what they feared. The steppe rogos grows to the size of a small house. Its skin is impenetrable to arrows, and its short-distance running speed exceeds that of a horse. The first Erikurians to venture into the steppes called it a "walking fortress" and avoided it.

But the local tribe, the Skirds, had a strange connection with these animals. The rogos did not attack their camps, although they smashed any foreign wagons to pieces. Those Skirds who cooperated with Erikuria claimed that the animals could sense "their own." One merchant who survived a rogos attack recounted that the beasts trampled a dozen royal spearmen but avoided a wicker wagon bearing the tribe's crest.

But the rogos were docile creatures who didn't attack anyone without reason. On the day the tribe marched on Erikuria, the beasts disappeared. Scouts reported that the enormous shapes were heading east, into lands unreached by royal expeditions. Agvar Thistle's ancestor, who held the post of chief mage of the kingdom, said at the time: "The beasts have abandoned their masters. It means Ag'Haldr has turned his back on them." And after that, the tribe was indeed routed within three weeks.