Legend of the Mounts of Adan
When the countless armies of the Dark Gods of Shaab invaded Tartu, its inhabitants for the first time saw beings they couldn't even have imagined. Some of the monsters were created by the lords of Abyss themselves, while the others belonged to alien worlds. The first group were a terrible and a disgusting site to behold, assembled from parts of different creatures – a mockery of the divine handiwork of the Creator. The latter were enslaved and infected by Shaab's Blight, and though they caused as much fear and aversion for any person who saw them, their original forms could still be seen within their contorted features.
But apart from the nightmarish beasts that stood under the banners of the Abyss, there were also creatures that joined Shaab's forces voluntarily and seemed unaffected by the Blight. Many of the warriors of the Abyss rode into combat atop large beasts that resembled gigantic lizards, whose sturdy carapaces and sharp claws suggested they were artificially bred to become ruthless war machines. Scientists identified several breeds of these Mounts: Spiketails, Aerlisks, Arcerapts and Raptoids.
At first, the inhabitants of Adan couldn't match the number, power, and ferocity of Shaab's hordes which pressed on relentlessly, devastating everything in their wake like a forest fire. But when the Elder Dragons came to help, the peoples of Tartu found faith in their strength once again and united against the ruthless invaders under the leadership of the winged guardians. When victory was declared, the defeated armies of the Dark Gods were scattered all across the world, fleeing from the righteous wrath of Tartu's defenders. Among others were Shaab's mounts, who left the fields of battle for forests and mountains.
Strangely, Tartu's climate was ideal for these creatures. Strong and sturdy, they spread all around the continent, and their numbers started growing. It turned out that despite their fearsome appearance, the beasts were peaceful herbivores that used their spikes and powerful jaws only for self-defense. The chronicles of the old Republic contain quite a lot of information about the first attempts of the meticulous scientist Tilmarian to tame these beasts.
One day, he encountered one such creature on a plain in the Ferranite Ridge area. Tilmarian noted that the beast didn't seem to fear him and allowed the scientist to approach. A wild thought of using the same gestures that he used to communicate with his dog occured to the naturalist, and he was stunned when it worked. The creature approached Tilmarian and rubbed its head against his leg. The scientist took it home and continued to conduct experiments on how to best tame the beast. Later, he found several of its kin, and they proved to take just as well to training. All of them were obedient and sharp, correctly following any given order.
Word got out about Tilmarian's studies and Tartu's inhabitants began searching for the mysterious lizards in order to tame them. Soon, warriors though of using the beasts in the way their enemies once did: as combat mounts. They didn't succeed at first, but veterans of the war knew that the monsters can be used in battle since they had seen it with their own eyes.
Suspecting that the issues weren't connected with the training itself, local wizards conducted a series of experiments and created magical formulas for controlling the minds of the creatures. The result of their experiments was an incantation so simple that virtually anyone could simply purchase a scroll in a shop and read it. Moments later, these beasts would be ready to carry their riders into the heat of battle to crush the enemies.
Today, these creatures are the most popular and in-demand mounts on Tartu. They are bred and sold to warriors from all over the world. The giant lizards allow their masters to carry more, all the while protecting their riders by bearing the brunt of enemy attacks. They also allow their masters to use ranged weapons that can be thrown farther while mounted.
The war with Shaab brought much grief to the people of Adan, but if there was something in that war that could be called a bright side, it is the appearance of these creatures on Tartu.