Excerpt from Beasts of Realida by Sebastien d’Ordaille
While the name would suggest otherwise, the thin plate beast is anything but delicate. The towering mammal stands at twice the height of a human, its bulky frame a testament to its raw strength. With its giant body, it makes no effort to hide itself, and that is truly the only defence anyone has against this monstrosity. By day, they are easily spotted, and when you do, give them a wide berth, lest you inadvertently provoke this colossus.
Should a thin plate beast take notice of you, it may just be your last adversary – not out of hunger, but an unyielding desire to drive you from its domain. Fleeing is futile and will get you killed. Despite its tremendous weight, a thin plate beast can easily outrun a man, its head lowered with the intent of impaling you on the spear-like horn that crowns its forehead.
Its diet, while predominantly plant-based, including grasses, leafy shrubs, and low-hanging trees, reveals a fascinating adaptability. A thin plate beast can digest nearly any material. Though its grinding teeth dissuade a carnivorous diet, thin plate beasts have been observed eating soil and even rocks. The mechanism behind this remains a subject of debate: are the stones ground to powder by their teeth or dissolved in their stomachs.
The thin plate beast shares a unique trait usually only associated with dragons: the ability to grow its own armour. The metal content of its diet directly influences the toughness of its plated skin, an attribute that has led some scholars to speculate a kinship between the two creatures. However, I find this theory untenable. Beyond their natural armour, the similarities are superficial at best, and I firmly reject the notion that thin plate beasts are wingless dragons.