been meaning to draw him so here he is
Lycaon has no projectile weapons but his unique modular design means that he can be fitted with a variety of armours to fit the circumstances - in theory. in practice, actually manufacturing this armour taxed supply chains beyond their limits and although plans were drawn up for six different variations, only one was made. without the added weight of this armour, he is the swiftest of the holy beasts.
the purpose of his single extant armour set is to serve as a distraction for attacking serpents during a dragon battle. the armour restricts his movements but covers vulnerable joints (save for the lumbar spine which must be exposed),leaving few to no clawholds for serpents to cling onto. the noisemakers are similar to church bells and draw the serpents' attention, drawing them within the danger zone of lycaon's exhaust flames. this armour has been used only three or four times and without much success; serpents quickly grow bored of attacking the bells and quickly return to harassing Lycaon's companions.
a couple of centuries into his operation, it was determined that the armour had been kind of a massive waste of money and time. in more recent years Lycaon is sent into battle without armour where he is used to strafe and hassle the sinful enemy. his construction is an example of divergent Midaean design; unlike the other beasts, which were outfitted in Forza, Lycaon's weight distribution is pitched forwards to the chest, which is the location of what is traditionally called the belly furnace. this gives him a slightly more naturalistic gait but a smaller and weaker heart engine (and associated pump systems). his overall longevity in battle suffers as a result.
prior to the introduction of Leun, king of beafts, Lycaon held seniority. his speed and challenging operation made him difficult to captain and his Midaean keepers had maintained him in perfect condition for centuries longer than any of the other beasts. of extant beasts, only Pantera is older. traditionally, the knights and smiths of the senior-most beast have command in any stable. Mercury Adézan, Lycaon's enginesmith, is technically the senior-most enginesmith in the empire (responsible for designing Sir Victory's prosthetic arm) - but because of his exclusive specialisation in Midaean design, he was unable to to work on Leun, the empire's newest and greatest beast. Mercury Luca, formerly Pantera's enginesmith, was drafted into the role instead, due to Leun's similarity in design to Pantera.
this led to a snarl in the chain of command; Mercury Luca was younger and less experienced than Mercury Adézan, but had been fast-tracked to the highest-ranking position within the enginesmith profession. furthermore, Luca was partially responsible for Pantera, which was the last beast to be lost in battle due to poor maintenance (Luca's mentor and Pantera's senior enginesmith, Mercury Alfeo, took responsibility for the accident and had his right hand amputated as punishment). there exists a strong and oftentimes vicious rivalry between the smith crews of Lycaon and Leun, although the knights, Sir Honour and Sir Heaven respectively, do not participate in this squabble.
the armoursmiths also find it to be kind of silly but hey, armour is armour. engines are a little trickier to run.
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