The Coveed #sheepguana of the Quartin plains

If you wish to read this in a less choppy format, follow this link: https://sheepguanafacts.wordpress.com/2020/04/07/the-coveed-sheepguana-of-the-quartin-plains/

1/31

There are many creatures in the world we birds look down on, who nonetheless possess impressive abilities. Bats hunt by echolocation, bees can navigate by the sun even on overcast days and some naturalists tell us that carnivorous plants may be able to count. 2/31

One animal with a peculiar gift is the Coveed sheepguana which, despite its lack of stereoscopic vision, has the ability to judge distances with incredible accuracy and uses it to maintain a distance of precisely six feet between itself and its closest peers at all times. 3/31

Also known as the socially distant sheepguana, the Coveed is sometimes used by surveyors due to the perfectly regular pattern a flock forms while grazing and the ease of measuring distances against the constant length of the files of a herd on the move. 4/31

Coveed sheepguana can only be successfully kept in a few regions due to the very specific requirements they have for their pastures and paddocks. Beyond being large enough to hold the flock,... 5/31

...they also need to provide a clean, quick-running stream with rocky banks where the fastidious animals can drink and wash themselves without getting their claws muddy. 6/31

Furthermore, they require sufficient shelter, for the Coveed, perhaps uniquely among ruminants, dislike the outdoors. 7/31

Building a sheep shed to harbour an entire flock of politely distant sheepguana would be a gargantuan undertaking fit to dwarf many castles, so it is lucky that they dislike the idea of group dwellings. 8/31

In fact, with the exception of nursing ewes and their lambs, Coveed despise sharing a building at all and are happiest when each individual has their own small shelter near, but not too close to the rest of the flock;... 9/31

...be it a hut, a tent or the shallow burrows they dig for themselves when no alternatives are presented. 10/31

Once each animal in a herd has claimed a home, they will only venture out for necessities such as grazing which they will perform quickly, efficiently and with impeccable spacing. 11/31

Once their stomachs are full, they will thoroughly wash their claws and faces and return to their claimed shelters in which they will chew their cud and keep in touch with their unseen neighbours via companionable bleats and the occasional burst of flame. 12/31

Their behaviour is almost completely defined by this need for separation and enclosed spaces and they will never approach another sheepguana or its shelter save for the purposes of mating, caring for lambs or assisting a flock member in dire distress. 13/31

If a Coveed is impaired in its mobility either by injury or old age, the rest of the flock will, if required, carry it to its home, followed by extensive washing by the individuals that touched others. 14/31

The healthy members of the flock will then take turns bringing it food, depositing their offerings at the entrance before retreating to a proper distance for the patient to claim them. 15/31

Dominance contests are almost always decided solely by the displays of dewlap and flame common to all sheepguana. In the rare event that matters do escalate further, the rams will still not fight directly. 16/31

Instead, they will seek out a rock or a tree of sufficient size and take turns attacking it, attempting to prove their strength and determination by moving or toppling it, then backing away to observe their rival's demonstration from a point six feet away from the target. 17/31

The Coveed's need for distance extends to all creatures of significant size, including the flock's guardian and her herding dogs. 18/31

The guardian will only be allowed to approach them for milking, shearing or other tasks after they have observed her washing her wings for the duration of one verse of the song “Gannet's Privateers”,... 19/31

...and many individuals will insist on cleansing the shears with their own flame before allowing them to touch their fleece. 20/31

Repeating this ritual for each sheepguana greatly increases the time required for the tending of the flock and is occasionally seen as tedious by guardians who dislike sea shanties. 21/31

The Coveed is a sheepguana of average size with a stocky build suited to their sedentary lifestyle, but they can be quite quick and agile when backing away from an intrusion into their personal space. 22/31

Its horns are small and curved close to the head so as not to get in the way inside their shelters. 23/31

Perhaps the most striking feature of the Coveed is its dewlap, which is of similar size in all sexes and which, when fully protracted, will extend upward to hide the animal's mouth, nose and most of its face save for the eyes. 24/31

Its fleece is thick and of a bright white colour but often becomes tangled and matted when the animals spend longer periods in their shelters. 25/31

Despite their finicky requirements and the greater than usual number of guardians needed for their care, Coveed herds are being kept almost anywhere a suitable pasture can be established. 26/31

Their wool and milk have great value in preventing and curing disease, so most herds are tended to by the more practically minded orders of the healing gods. 27/31

Coveed sheepguana milk is an ingredient in many healing potions, while hospitals across the realms use the wool for their bedsheets and often the vestments of their healers as well. 28/31

In fact, the general acceptance of the colour white for healers is at least in part due to the fact that Coveed wool repels dyes as strictly as it does germs and dirt. 29/31

For visitors to the Quartin plains who have an interest in livestock, it should be noted that Coveed are less tolerant of strangers entering their pastures than other sheepguana. 30/31

Also, contrary to the popular “folk wisdom” peddled by bards and other disreputable subjects, kissing a Coveed sheepguana will NOT cure any illness and even if it did, the patient would in the best case be trading their affliction for extensive third degree burns. 31/31