Artosi

Semi-mythical beings, the Artosi are bears said to be size of houses that stalking the thicker regions of the forests beyond the city.

Within the confines of the city it's easy to imagine they don't exist, much like the gods beyond the walls, but when stories filter in of hamlets found flattened or aurochs herds disappearing, leaving nothing but hooves and horns one cannot help but hear a distant rumbling growl.

The people of Llyn have a special affinity for the Artosi or so the rumour goes, at the very least the weathered basalt statue of bear in the middle of Half Moon Square brings to mind the great beasts. It is from the Artosi that the phrase "bear-cleaved" filters into language, often used to describe natural disasters - swathes of trees felled or stones split in two.

A true Artos hasn't been seen near the city in possibly centuries, but there will always be at least one braggart claiming to be selling their hide, usually the furs of a number of beasts crudely stitched together or carrying a plaster cast of a pawprint the size of a cartwheel. None have managed to prove their claims thus far, though many Ketzer get unusually quiet when the Artosi are discussed.