> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.empiresbattle.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.empiresbattle.com/empires-battle-lore/on-the-origin-of-beastfolk-animals-and-altered-creatures/9.-why-beastfolk-use-animals.md).

# 9. Why Beastfolk Use Animals

**Young residents of Baobab Village sometimes ask:** if the beastfolk themselves descended from animals, why do they ride animals and keep them as livestock?

The answer is simple.

Beastfolk are the intelligent branch awakened by Flur.

Mounts and working animals are the altered but non-sentient branch.

Monsters are the distorted branch.

They all share a common past, but their paths are different.

To the beastfolk, a mount is neither a “lesser brother” nor a slave. In the settlements, these animals are treated with respect. They are fed, cared for, trained, and protected. Without them, it would be far more difficult to transport goods, plow the land, escape from robots, climb into the mountains, and survive in a world where the roads have long since ceased to be safe.

But in the lands of Decay, the Steam Empire, and the wild regions, things are different.

There, an animal often becomes a weapon, a tool, or an expendable resource.

Thus, Flur divided the living world into many paths.

Some it raised to intelligence.

Others it made stronger.

Some it turned into monsters.

And some it left alongside the beastfolk — as companions, helpers, and comrades in battle.