#gardenback

With the word "brilliant" in the name and such vibrant coloration, you should already know where this species of gardenback lives! They are indeed residents of the rainbow mountains, grazing upon the colorful slopes. Like the rest of their kind, brilliant gardenbacks are herbivores, but the plants they eat here provide more than just sustenance and green juice! The vegetation gets pigment from what it absorbs from the rainbow colored soil, thus staining their own forms with it. When the brilliant gardenback feeds on these plants, it too gets a bunch of color added to its system. After eating enough of this, their very flesh is saturated with these colors and they gain their iconic look. What used to be a simple shade of green is now blues, reds and even some purples! I should point out, that since they gain this coloration from what they eat, larval brilliant gardenbacks actually come out pale and colorless. Since they are newborns, they haven't eaten any of the plants and thus have not gained the pigment. This state doesn't last long though, as their flesh is more transparent at this stage to make up for this lack of color. That way, when they eat vibrant food, the spreading colors through their system are more noticeable and it allows them to better blend in with the living art around them!

Though they aren't green like their other relatives, brilliant gardenbacks still use photosynthesis to gain extra food. It works out even better for them, because vegetation can be much more sparse on these slopes, and they are also somewhat closer to the sun! This certainly helps them get through periods without steady food, but it does also make them a target for predators. With big juicy growths like that, any carnivore will be hankering for a bite! Brilliant gardenbacks tend to be the targets of predators like the fabulous lancejaw and amber eaters. Their hardened curved antenna act like horns, and they use them to bash and bludgeon foes (and also rivals during disputes). With their long neck, they can whip those around with startling strength, sending you flying right off your feet! However, these weapons don't work all the time, especially against faster predators. Even then, the gardenback may not be doomed. With a whole cloak of fleshy growths, there is often more than enough food there to satisfy any hungry stomach. Some attackers may be fine ripping off chunks and scampering off with those. To the gardenback, it is inconvenient but not lethal. They will grow back in time, and nothing important was damaged. With this, carnivores can still get a filling meal while the gardenback gets to live. Due to their beautiful colors, the meat and eggs of the brilliant gardenback get some more attention than their duller cousins. You can't tell me you wouldn't be curious if you saw a steak that colorful when visiting the butcher! Since they have a different diet, there are some changes in flavor but they are a bit subtle. The real draw is the look of the meat, which makes it popular at parties and a favorite of floral dryads. They swear that eating this stuff helps their own colors, but I am sure you would need to eat a ton of it for that to actually work. As for me, I think it is pretty good, but I have to admit I get a bit disappointed when I take my first bite. Call me childish, but I see something that looks like you butchered a rainbow and my mind starts thinking of fruit flavors and bright colored candies. You know how many mixed juices and cocktails I have had that really bring the colors and flavors? So many that I feel my brain starts assuming the taste the second I look at something so vibrant. I then take a bite of the meat and get confused for a brief moment. All I taste is meat! Good meat, but meat nonetheless! I really hope I am explaining this right, because I am starting to think I sound crazy...   Chlora Myron Dryad Natural Historian -------------------------------------------------------

“Brilliant Gardenback”

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