The Kev’lor is one of the largest of the known horse breeds throughout all of Caelereth. It has been developed through years of breeding, and is used as the warhorse of the Kuglimz tribes in Northern Sarvonia.

Image description. A Helvet'ine Kuglim lancer patrolling his territory on his heavily armoured Kev'lor war horse. Picture drawn by Eratinalinfalah.

Appearance. Standing at an impressive 6 fores high, these horses dwarf almost all other domesticated creatures save perhaps the ulgaroth. They are heavily muscled and honed for power. Their weight is approximately 24 to 25 pygges. They are covered in fine short hair that is normally light brown to chestnut in colouring. The mane and tail tend to be darker brown or black. The interesting difference in this breed besides their impressive size has to do with their legs. The colouration around their hooves and for about half their leg is normally white. Along with that there is a trailing of white hair that tends to feather out as they run. These horses have large heavy heads, thickly muscular necks and what is known as the “Ashmari nose” (That is, a distinctly aquiline curve to the muzzle profile. In the south, this is known as the “Maeverface”.) They also have exceptionally large hooves, which can be as much as two palmspans across, and look bigger due to the heavy “feathering” of white hair covering them from somewhat below the knees to the ground. Stallions are slightly larger than mares, although both are equally prized as warhorses. Kev’lor Horses sometimes have white markings on their faces, known as the “meivz” or the “whites”. Horses with “whites” are especially prized, as this is the colour of Sur’tyan, the All-Father, and thus thought to be lucky or blessed.

Special Abilities. Kev’lor Horses are warhorses of the first order, not only due to their size but their training as well. While it must be said that they do not have the best long-term endurance, they more than make up for it in sheer power and size. They are trained to rear, kick and bite on command. This comes in very handy in battle, and is another reason why they are prized so highly.

Territory. This particular breed of horse is found most often in the foothills of the Celeste Mountains, the Celeste Lowlands and the surrounding region, as they are native to this area. The Kuglimz people prize them and thus keep a pretty tight hold on them. However, some will occasionally be traded or (rarely) gifted and when done so are highly prized and thus well cared for.

Habitat/Behavior. Despite their fearsome reputations as warhorses, Kev’lor Horses tend to be rather gentle when not in battle. One will often see a group of Kuglimz children climbing all over a Kev'lor and pretending to be warriors while it stands there grazing contentedly. Even the stallions are gentle with children. Many a distracted mother has shooed her children out into the plains or pastures to “go play with the horses!” and returned to her work knowing the children are as safe with the great Kev’lor stallions as they would be at home and underfoot. Intruders, whether strange humans or animals, are not well tolerated by these creatures, and predators have been trampled to bloody smears for coming too close to the children or foals in the area.

Diet. Kev'lor Horses are fed on Alth'ho grass when they are out at pasture. When they are stabled they feed either on dried Alth'ho or a mixture of grains and oats. However, they will browse on many other plants as well when traveling.

Mating. When the mares come into heat, the lead stallion will sense this and attempt to mate with the mare. One stallion can service up to a herd of 40 females. This can be quite hazardous to his health, as the mares will try to resist and will kick at him. Often, horse breeders will hobble the mare or confine her in a special mating stall to reduce the chances of damaging the precious stud. The mare will usually give birth to a live foal after a gestation of about eleven months. Unless they are expecting, the mares come into heat every eight weeks or thereabouts. Kev’lor mares are very strong and very rarely have difficulty in foaling. There is a somewhat rude Kuglimz saying that a woman will make a good mother if she has “breasts like the Celeste Mountains and hips like a Kev’lor mare”.

Origin. The Kev'lor were originally the heavy cavalry horses of the Mynian Kingdom. They were selectively bred to encourage size and power. Endurance wasn't as important as they would trot their horses and only as they neared the enemy, increase to a gallop, using the weight of the horse to help in shock value. During the fall of the Mynian Kingdom, many of the soldiers that survived and fled left on these horses. Over time with the dilution of pure lines due to interbreeding with the wild Tirpan horses, these great horses have actually shrunk a little in stature and bulk to become today Kev'lor Horses.

Kev’lor studs were used as the foundation sires in breeding the Sarvonian draught horse, one of the few domestic horses that approaches the mighty Kev’lor in size.

30th Singing Bird 1669 a.S. Information provided by Drogo and Alysse the Likely