Aoyin
Creature 10An aoyin resembles an ox with a pale body, four horns, and hair as coarse as straw. Although this large, solitary beast bears a slight resemblance to the common draft ox, it's a highly aggressive and territorial carnivore who stalks and devours its prey. An aoyin dwells high in the mountains, rarely being seen by common folk. However, during lean winters, an aoyin might descend from its mountain home in search of food, resulting in gruesome encounters with nearby settlements. It's believed that a single aoyin can decimate the population of an entire village, only to retreat into the nearby mountains once it has satiated its hunger. An aoyin, even a herd of the creatures, is primarily driven by hunger and other natural urges. Outside of its natural habitat, an aoyin might occasionally be kept by those who revel in bloodlust. Even with magical control, a captive aoyin is more likely to turn on its handlers than obey commands. As an uncontrolled weapon, however, a hungry aoyin poses a terrible threat to most communities. Tales in certain isolated areas claim that the growling call of an aoyin can drive those unlucky enough to hear it into a frenzy of hunger and violence. Villages will be found consumed by infighting without any sign of an aoyin even entering its borders. Although it's possible a powerful variant of this creature might possess this ability, most of these stories are inspired by the terrible magic available to those who understand the aoyin's secrets and are spread when villages collapse through magic compulsions or mundane infighting.