MORE THAN A NAME
The story of Mossprig.
Mossprig and its evolutions browse the open groves between Heartwood and the high winds. Their slim legs, moss mantle, wooden antlers, and copper leaf tails develop into a graceful support line attentive to traveling groups.
The grove surveyors first recorded Three Sapling Pass as a poor migration route. It was longer than the exposed ridge and had little open grazing. A Velvbranch nevertheless led its companions through it each spring, stopping beside three damaged seedlings before continuing. The surveyors followed on a windy afternoon and discovered that each stop lay inside a separate pocket of calm. Together the small trees formed a sheltered sequence across the slope.
A storm later broke the youngest sapling. Rather than abandoning the route, a Hartbloom returned with leaf litter caught in its antlers and laid it around the remaining roots. People helped replant the gap, then watched an Antleroot choose a resting place where its branching crown softened the wind above the new growth. The pass remains longer than the ridge. Its value lies in the smaller travelers that can complete it, and in the rest stops that make their arrival possible.
Origins & background
Open Heartwood groves receive both forest moisture and the strong moving air descending from Stormspine. The line's slender build suits migration through that changing border. Its antlers support small moss and leaf growth without becoming a separate tree. Mature Gale leaves flex around the wooden branches, making subtle wind changes visible to companions resting beneath the crown.
A PLACE TO BELONG
Life in Heartwood.
Mossy uplands and quiet groves open to the wind..
Behavior
Mossprig listens while browsing and raises its head whenever the group behind it changes pace. Adults alternate short feeding walks with well-chosen rests. They angle their crowns into the wind before moving, then turn back to check whether the quieter animals have followed.
Diet
Tender moss shoots, woodland grasses, fallen copperleaf fruit, and the soft outer growth of suitable shrubs. Their narrow muzzles allow selective browsing among young trees and sheltered seedlings.
Place in the ecosystem
Selective browsing maintains varied grove edges without clearing them completely. Their moss mantles move small plant fragments between damp resting places, while repeated migration stops protect pockets of soil from constant exposure.
Neighbors & bonds
Sprighorn protect many of the same windward seedlings that Mossprig browse around. Fernip guide young members through dense passages, while Ziplet use an Antleroot crown as a temporary perch at the forest's high edge.
ONE BOND, FOUR CHAPTERS
The Mossprig lineage.
Evolution combines experience with a meaningful milestone. A WildKin may keep its current form until its keeper is ready.
Mossprig ↗
A slim green youngster with teal facial coloring, small wooden antler shoots, a layered moss mantle, and a copper leaf tail. Long dark hooves support tentative steps. It stays close to familiar companions and learns a route as a sequence of safe resting places.
Velvbranch ↗
The antlers rise into taller wooden branches above a steadier neck and more confident gaze. Its moss mantle spreads along the back. It begins selecting rest stops for others, choosing quiet patches where both browsing and shelter are available without crowding young plants.
Hartbloom Current
Forking antlers and pale Gale leaves broaden a still-graceful crown, while the copper tail becomes more expressive. This form pays close attention to damaged growth along its route. It carries gathered litter into exposed soil and waits nearby while a companion tends the roots.
Antleroot ↗
A many-branched wooden crown rises above an experienced, lightly built guardian of migration paths. Flexible Gale leaves and a full moss mantle answer the changing air. It chooses positions that offer a group room to rest without exhausting the delicate grove beneath its feet.
INSTINCT & ELEMENT
How it holds its own.
Moss Rest
An ally resting beside this creature gains a small recovery bonus once per battle.
Hartwind
GaleSend a gentle antler-borne gust that repositions allies and clears a slowing effect.
A WildKin equips up to four moves. Its secondary element joins at Prime, alongside its signature move. Read the battle and evolution rules →
FROM THE KEEPER’S NOTEBOOK
Meeting in the wild.
- 01
Follow copper leaf prints between sheltered grove openings.
- 02
Rest quietly at an established stop instead of walking straight into the group.
- 03
Repair a damaged seedling along the migration route.
“The shortest path crossed the bare ridge. The Antleroot chose a longer one and arrived with every tired companion still walking willingly beside it.”— Hearthwild field notes