Glacier Turtle

"Lots o’ folks think they can sail through all them ice sheets out there. Half the time they turn back and pay us to take ‘em, the other half they end up shipwrecked."
—Harald Sterson, turtle ferryman

The Glacier Turtle, also called the Iceberg Turtle, is a large species of turtle that dwells in frigid, coastal regions of Haven. Known for its ability to form a protective layer of ice around its shell, the Glacier Turtle is one of Haven’s hardiest animals. The intelligent races of Haven have learned to take advantage of this ability, training Glacier Turtles to ferry passengers across the frigid waters.

Characteristics

Appearance

The Glacier Turtle is similar in appearance to many other turtles, but far larger, reaching the size of an ox by the time it reaches maturity. Four stocky legs support a hefty, ridged shell lined with openings. The Glacier Turtle possesses a long neck that helps it in obtaining hard-to-reach plants, which it grinds down using the tough ridges in its mouth. The turtle’s thick skin is often lined with the remnants of past ice-shells, typically in the form of small shards of ice that jut out in random places. As a result, predators that bite into the Glacier Turtle sometimes get a mouthful of these shards.

Biology

The inside of the Glacier Turtle’s shell is lined with hundreds of small openings that allow air to travel through them. Whenever the turtle feels threatened, it forces cold air through these channels at such a rate that it causes the shell to freeze over, forming a thick layer of ice. This layer, combined with the Glacier Turtle’s already tough shell, forms a nigh-impenetrable barrier that most predators have no hope of piercing. Once it is sure that the danger is gone, the turtle shakes the ice off and leaves, forcing warmer air through its shell openings to help slide it off.

The Glacier Turtle is a herbivore, feeding primarily on patches of moss and lichen that dot the cold beaches of its home. While swimming, it often dives for patches of kelp, with a single turtle able to eat up to a hundred pounds of kelp in a single sitting. Trained Glacier Turtles often develop a fondness for fruit, which their trainers often feed them as a reward for proper ice platform formation. Turtle ferrymen also dangle fruit in front of their turtles as a means to help motivate them during long journeys.

When Glacier Turtles mate, the female lays a cluster of eight to twelve eggs, digging a burrow for them and covering them in foliage. This helps to hide the eggs from potential threats, though a few eggs in every clutch typically end up eaten. A few months later, the eggs hatch, scrambling for open water as they are highly vulnerable to predators in this stage. As the Glacier Turtle grows, it learns how to use its ice-forming abilities, though young turtles have a habit of forming too much ice, which leaves them pinned until they manage to shake the ice off.

Behavior

In the wild, the Glacier Turtle is usually a solitary creature, spending its days cruising along the beaches in search of food. While they aren’t the most social beasts, they sometimes congregate in large numbers, usually on beaches with high concentrations of plant life. A group of Glacier Turtles has the capacity to strip a sizable stretch of coast bare within weeks, which often leads to conflict with other herbivores. As such, Glacier Turtles often migrate to other places when they start facing pushback.

Trained Glacier Turtles tend to be far more sociable than their wild counterparts, enjoying the presence of their ferrymen. They tend to become a lot more physically affectionate as well, snuggling up to other turtles as well as their ferrymen. However, their sheer weight means that they often end up pinning their friends underneath their bulk, which has led to several instances of ferries being late or outright canceled. To prevent this from happening, most turtle ferrymen wear a special necklace that emits a scent unpleasant to the Glacier Turtles.

Glacier Turtle Ferries

Communities living in the colder areas of Haven have long made use of the Glacier Turtle as a means to travel across the frigid waters of their home. However, the turtle’s shell isn’t exactly the most comfortable thing to sit on, so only the hardiest people were willing to undertake long journeys. However, careful observation of the Glacier Turtle’s ice-forming behavior led to some training Glacier Turtles to create a flat platform of ice on their backs instead of the conical shape they usually create. As this practice spread, the demand for the services of turtle-riders grew, which eventually resulted in the creation of a ferry service that has spread to many of Haven’s frozen coasts.

Glacier Turtle ferries are highly valued thanks to their innate ability to navigate the often-rough waters of their home. In fact, they are so well-liked that many prefer them to sailing ships, with many turtle ferrymen being former sailors themselves. This, however, tends to lead to a bit of conflict when passing ships stop by, especially ones whose crews are confident they can break through the ice. Drunken arguments between sailors and turtle ferrymen are all too common over which method of travel is superior: the Glacier Turtle or the ship?

Notable Individuals

TBA