#askroc

[loominggaia]

How big is shadow like she can fit a whole gazebo on her back

(please forgive my crappy image)

Shadow is still young and not quite full-grown, but she will grow bigger with time.

Her "gazebo" is actually more of a tent-like structure. One of these days I'm going to edit every instance of "gazebo" in the whole series and change it to "tent" or "yurt", because it seems to cause a lot of confusion. Poor word choice on my part!

Shadow doesn't carry the tent on her back, she actually carries it in her talons like this:

(However, I have seen art of rocs carrying tents on their backs like the pic below:

Rocs of Looming Gaia don't generally carry them this way though.)

Shadow has a few different tents which she uses to carry her crew. The largest one is big enough to hold about ten crewmen, including Elska and Javaan (it's a tight squeeze!). The smallest can hold just two human-sized people. The larger tents are more unwieldy and make her fly clumsily.

Some of the tents are made of light canvas and well-ventilated for hot climates, while others are made of heavy pelts and extra insulated for cold climates. In one story, the FGG put skis on a roc tent so they could drag it through the snowy tundra, showing that they're easily customizable.

All the tents are equipped with safety parachutes in case Shadow accidentally drops them (the FGG had to deploy these at least once in the series...). They also float in case they're dropped in water. However, these tents are built to be as lightweight as possible and that means they're not very sturdy. They tend to break apart easily.

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[loominggaia]

I’d like to know alittle bit more about how roc reproduction and their lifecycle works? Exactly how big is a roc egg and how long do they incubate? How big and developed are roc chicks upon hatching and how long do they take to grow? What happens if a roc fails to find a mate, do they lay an unfertilized egg or just don’t lay an egg at all? Etc…?

How big a roc egg?

Roc eggs are the largest avian eggs on Looming Gaia. They’re about 3 feet tall and can weigh up to 100 pounds.

How long do the eggs incubate?

About 2-3 weeks. A female roc and her mate take turns guarding these eggs while the other hunts for food. Once the hatchlings are old enough to start wandering out of the nest, the male usually leaves and never returns.

How developed are roc hatchlings?

When baby rocs emerge from their eggs, they are covered in a fine gray fuzz. This fuzz is hard to see because their skin is also gray, but it can be felt and it's very soft. After a few weeks, they grow a coat of black downy feathers. At this stage they start to wander around outside the nest and hunt small animals. Over the next few months, their down turns into real feathers and their mother will teach them how to fly. Most rocs are flying at 6 months of age.

At this age, the rocs are much smaller than their mother, but still large enough to defend themselves against most predators in the desert. They start becoming territorial and aggressive towards their mother, prompting her to attack them and scare them away from the nest for good. They will then fly off and become independent.

How long do they take to grow?

At 6 months old, rocs are considered "juveniles". Juveniles are smaller than adults, but still quite independent and dangerous creatures. It takes 5 years for a roc to reach full size/maturity. Wild rocs tend to live for 20-50 years, but those in captivity can live to see 100.

They usually die from injuries, infections, starvation, bad weather, and fighting with other rocs.

What happens if a roc fails to find a mate?

Female rocs can only lay 3 eggs in their entire lifetime. Some lay just one every few years, while others lay them all at once. It's unknown what triggers this process, but rocs seem to sense when they're about to lay an egg a few weeks ahead of time. Their instincts drive them towards the Serkel Desert, where they will search for a mate to fertilize them. If they are not fertilized in time, they will lay a dud.

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