Pronunciation: Singular (Deelqaaf) as in 'calf' Plural (Deelqaves) as in 'calves'
Deelqaves are an ancient type of creature. They resemble a human giant, yet still have defining features that are unique to them. They were created at the beginning of time along with the dwarves and humans but have slowly dwindled, for many reasons. First of all, the deelqaves can not reproduce. Secondly, they are feared by the Qalurans (they are found mainly in Qaluros) and are hunted.
An average deelqaaf is around forty to fifty feet tall. Their skin is the texture of granite, and their coloring can range anywhere from a sandy color to a dark basalt color. Average deelqaves are a light grey color and forty-five feet tall.
They are sentient, but their thought processes are much reduced from ours. They can reason when hunting, and some can understand human speech, but they are not organized in a race or anything, and thus are classified as creatures. At the time of Zaciré there is only one deelqaaf left in the world; Zaciré and Numaryá encounter him on the quest.
The deelqaves are very untrusting of Qalurans because they have been hunted by them for só long. Though huge, the deelqaves are very shy and not very good at attacking people or things, they are generally peaceful creatures.
The most defining physical feature of deelqaves is that they have no ears, instead they sense vibrations through the air and ground; they're a sort of 'living rock'. This is why they often have trouble understanding human speech. The difficult dwarf speech they cannot understand at all, and especially they dislike Mountain Dwarves, who are miners of rock.
The one remaining deelqaf in the world during the time of Zaciré aids in the final battle against Srugoz. Because he isn't very bright, he knows little of current world affairs but does hate Srugoz. He can, however, remember the Creation, back at the very beginning.
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What do you guys think of this creature? It plays a relatively minor part in the book but I thought it was pretty cool.
eruheran
