This post is part of the Immortal Naturalist's Guide series. The explanation for that series can be found in this post.
The Antlered Man is said to inhabit a dry peninsula full of tough, salt-loving plants. He is about 8 feet tall excluding the antlers and uses his long arms to pick fruits from the tallest parts of cactus trees. The beast supplements his diet with a wide variety of foraged leaves and flowers. Those who see him usually only get a glimpse before he runs away at high speed. The antlered man seems to be very wary of any other living thing, tending to avoid even rodents and large insects. I was able to observe him by leaving out food and hiding nearby, showing that the creature seems to rely more on sight than smell. Although I was able to get many hours of observation through this method, the Antlered Man would be gone in a flash as soon as I made any sound.
The speed of this being is so great that I believe it to have a magical source, likely tied to its hooves which give off a red glow when the Antlered Man runs. While he is fast and able to jump great distances, the Antlered Man is generally unable to turn or stop quickly. While I do not know what would happen if the creature tried to take a sharp turn at speed, I cannot imagine it would end well.
I was able to track the beast down to his nest and discovered that he sheds his antlers with some regularity and saves them in a massive pile near the nest. After seeing him shred a cactus tree to bits while sharpening his antlers, I tried to take one of the shed antlers for myself, provoking the only aggressive behavior from the Antlered Man that I had ever witnessed. From that point on he did not let me leave his sight until I had left the area entirely. While I suspect that the Antlered Man's shed antlers could be used to make tools stronger than most metals, gathering them seems to propose a significant challenge.
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