Eostage

Appearance
The body build is similar to Eost. Eostage's hooves have a more dark purple tinge, the scales on the slim front legs have a bright sapphire coloration which is most vibrant on the torso to the neck. The patches of brown fur grew into wiry pelt at the side of the front legs growing together in spike-like fashion. The hind legs are more muscular and a lot duller in coloration compared to the other pair of extremities. The fur is also a lot shorter and less noticeable among the scales. SImilar to its juvenile form Eostage possesses a deep red spot of fur beneath its white tail. The monster's back is covered in dark brown pelage which covers the a little lighter shade of brown of the scales beneath it. The Fanged Wyvern possesses quite large, sensitive ears and dark eyes on the sides of the head. The head is covered in red-brownish fur in contrast to the dark brown scales underneath. The snout is quite short and ends in a black nose. Eostage's beautiful antlers shine in different shades of green and blue with some red-orange lines and grow in intricate forms which the lines follow.

Habitat and Ecology
Eostage inhabits different forests and groves where it feeds on all kinds of different vegetation like berries, fruits, buds, grass, leaves but especially freshly grown tree saplings. Areas in which Eostage is found include Bamboo Grove, Unseen Boscage, Sagnum Woods and Dark Hain.

Eostage possess big antlers of which main trunk grow continuously, while the side branches fall off after mating season. Sometimes bigger side branches don't atrophy and grow alongside the main trunk, giving each Eostage a unique, individual antler. The monster is able to infuse nature element from its nutrition which it retains in its antlers. This is the reason they have a green tinge. Eostage is able to unleash bursts of nature element from the antler, using it to fend off threats. If too much of this energy is used up, the color gets duller and parts may get damaged. At the next best opportunity it will then try to ingest nutrients by consuming vegetation.

The Fanged Wyvern lives in small herds of ten to twenty of which only a few are full-grown Eostage. The rest of the group consists of subadult individuals called Eost. The adult monsters protect the juveniles from predators and threats while also showing them essential skills for living in the forest. The Eostage in the such a herd are without exception female. All the members in the group are descendents of the oldest female which teaches her daughters how to raise youngs. They stay to help teaching the next generation and then leave the herd with a few other members to form a new family in the vicinity. When the oldest female dies, the oldest daughter, that is still in the group, takes over the lead.

The herds don't always contain only members of their own species but takes in injured monsters which don't pose a threat and sometimes other herbivores. This behavior gave them their title "Guardian of the Forest". The herds are quite harmonious and fights occur very rarely outside of the mating season. But towards threats Eostage can be very aggressive when they come too close to the group. In dangerous situations they reveal the red spot under their tail to alert the others.

Males leave the herd as adolescents and form small groups at less populated areas that can't contain a whole herd far away from their origin. They are the easiest targets for predators and hunters but as there is a slight higher birthrate for males, this doesn't endanger the population in normal circumstances. Even fully-grown male Eostage stay together and only separate in mating season. Adult Eostage still have predators but can protect themselves quite well, what makes old and ill individuals the usual targets for predation.

In mating season both males and females seek out open areas in the forest to find mates. Males possess bigger antlers which shine more vibrantly in this time, having a higher proportion of red-orange coloration, and try to impress the females. When a female shows interest in any of the males a contest commences between them. They ram their antlers into each other until one of the contestants loses a part of their horns. This is the end of the battle and the individual with the intact antlers wins. The process gets repeated until only one of those males is left which gets the right to mate. The females give birth several months later to live youngs, about two to four on average, at about the same time. The babies are kept in the center of the herd to keep them as safe as possible. Sometimes a bigger herd is formed by the different groups in vicinity to improve the safety of the young even more.

If there's an overpopulation of Eostage, it may inhibit growth of trees causing problems for the forest as they eat all the young saplings. This is one of the main reasons for quests authorized by the guild for hunting these monsters. The quests usually contain two targets as the Fanged Wyvern are almost never encountered on their own.

Interactions with other Monsters

 * Predators:
 * Healthy Eostage have few predators but monsters like Frykivah and Irrgaston can overpower them.
 * Symbiosis and other harmonious relationships:
 * Herds take in injured monsters but they also mix with other herbivores. White Eost are regularly encountered inside their groups.
 * Turf wars:
 * WIP

Abilities
Eostage's main means of attack are its hooves it uses for kicks and stomps of different shape. The Fanged Wyvern also charges at threats and fends them off with its antlers. The antlers can release surges of nature element either directly on an opponent when hit or into the ground, where the energy then surges upwards in a short line.

Attacks

 * 1) Charge: Eostage turns towards an opponent, lowers its head and scratches a hoof on the ground and the charges onward. It may chain this attack with other attacks or repeats it once more when in Rage Mode.
 * 2) Back kick: The Fanged Wyvern turns its rear at the threat and kicks back.
 * 3) Jump back kick: Similar to the regular back kick, but the monster leaps back while kicking letting it realign its body body. Eostage may chain this attack with other attacks, like a stomp or a charge when in Rage Mode.
 * 4) Single foot stomp: The Fanged Wyvern raises one of the front legs and strikes it down.
 * 5) High stomp: Eostage raises its whole upper body from the ground and strikes its front legs into the opponent. In Rage Mode, this attack causes small chunks of earth to be flinged randomly, these inflict earthblight.
 * 6) Lunge: The monster takes a step back, runs towards a target and then lunges at the opponent. This attack can be used to cover distance.
 * 7) Jump over: Similar to the lunge, but instead Eostage jumps over the opponent to then either chain a back kick or charge attack or in rare cases to escape the area.
 * 8) High jump body slam: The Fanged Wyvern kneels a bit down to jump into the air and smash its body onto an opponent.
 * 9) Head swing: Eostage lowers its head and swings it side to side trying to hit the target with its antlers.
 * 10) Head smash: It raises its head and smashes it down into the opponent. When exhausted this may cause the antler to get stuck into the ground for a moment.
 * 11) Upward throw: The monster lunges forward, lowers its head and tries to send a hunter flying with the antlers by raising its head abruptly. This attack may be repeated once.
 * 12) Antler smash: Eostage rams one of its antlers into the ground and unleashes energy which bursts upwards in a line out of the ground in surges of nature element. In Rage Mode the attack ranges farther.

Materials
Eostage Scale, Eostage Shell, Eostage Pelt, Eostage Antler (only when broken), Eostage Hoof, Eostage Tail (when damaged), Eostage Plate

Trivia

 * The name comes from Eos, Goddess of the Dawn and a transmodified form of the word "stag". The name is pronounced as [Ee-oh-stah-ge].