The Spike Hog Drops in!

Artwork by: prayogaardip Inspiration: When writing A New Ember, I wanted a creature that is dangerous for people who aren’t familiar with the area. The idea or even fear of walking under something seemingly harmless, like a tree or a building and having something fall on your head, is consistent. One example of this was the “Drop Bear” meme/creepypasta? That happened a few years back that had many people terrified of going to Australia (outside of the normal horror stories). But I also didn’t want to make this creature a type of predator. Instead I wanted it to be an animal that will leave you alone, if you leave it alone.

The first iteration of this idea was to have more of an armadillo type creature. One that would roll up into a ball and free fall, that idea developed into it having spikes and eventually somehow evolved into it being a cute territorial pig with spikes on its back.

1st Appearance: Tales of Reverba: A New Ember

FAQs:

Q: “How do you catch a drop pig that seems to have evolved to not be caught?”

A: Like most prey animals, there is that constant fear that everything bigger than them is trying to eat them. The first thing one most do is establish trust normally through just being plainly visible and offering the occasional snack/treat and showing you aren’t a threat. While this might take a while and might not always work. Eventually, you will encounter one that enjoys or at least tolerates your company and maybe… if you are lucky, it might let you pick it up and carry it home.

Q: “How easy are they to train?”

A: Honestly, pretty easy. At least the offspring of tamed ones are. The Drop Pigs that came from the wild are going to do whatever they want, but farmers can train their babies to ignore certain people, ignore people wearing a certain item or color, drop on command, eject their spikes. All of this is possible if an experienced trainer trains them from birth.

“The Spike Hog is the result of a prey animal learning to fight from an ambush predator.” - Excerpt from the travel logs of Ka’ Roole the Upmost Trust.