Snow Leopard (animal)
Snow Leopards are solitary hunters renowned for their beautiful coats and keen minds. They can be found exclusively in the tall Kharadan Mountains east of Aironoi. Snow Leopards tend to cover vast territories that they hunt through, often overlapping with others in the region.
Snow leopards are cunning and ruthless predators, preferring the shadows of the dense forest for stalking their prey. It's taken days to track this one through its territory, following the scant remains of faeces and marked trees to a rocky hill surrounded by a creek on one side. I ready my spear, gripping the wood tight as we step cautiously through the thick underbrush. The strong breeze blowing through the mountains around my head fill my ears completely as I scan our surroundings, until the sound of a harsh growl coming from above my head drowns out all others. I look up with a startle to find our prey, the spotted snow leopard, staring down at us from a rocky outcropping just above us. I gulp hard, stepping lightly backwards beneath the ferocious beast. If we're going to slay it, we need to act fast, before the snow leopard pounces.