Temple Dogs

Temple Dogs are stone statues found guarding temple entrances in the lands of Nippon and Cathay.

They resemble nothing so much as a cross between a giant pekinese and a lion. In times of war, the power of the temple gods is channelled into these statues to animate them. It is a geat honour to mount this divine animal, indicating that the rider has found great favour with the gods. About the size of a horse, the Temple Dog retains some of the properties of stone, giving it a very tough skin and tremendous weight.

During Tamurkhan's march south along the eastern side of the Mountains of Mourn, his lieutenant Sayl the Faithless attacked the Cathayan fortress of the Tower of Ashshair. There his forces confronted stone-fleshed Temple Dogs that swam down the jade walls of the tower and up through the rocky ground as if it were water.