Rhi-sar hide worked best […] but it was the hardest to obtain, second only to rathorn ivory. Gaudaric was a trifle vague on where it came from, except that patrols into the Wastes sometimes brought it back. Modern rhi-sar came in small skins and strips. Antique rhi-sar hides were much larger and rarer. Her brother’s full suit of hardened rhi-sar leather was probably the most valuable thing he owned, next to his sword, Kin-Slayer, and the Kenthiar collar.
– Jame's narration, The Sea of Time, "Chapter IV: Red Dust", I
A rhi-sar is a beast of the Southern Wastes. Their hide is tough and the leather made from it is used for armor by the Kencyr and others.[1][2][3] The making of such armor involves boiling, beating, and shaping to the body of the wearer before it hardens.[4] Rhi-sar leather doesn't stain.[5] Rhi-sar intestines can also be used as tires.[6]
Modern rhi-sar are small,[8] and are the descendants of the extinct ancient rhi-sar, which were huge.[9]
References[]
↑Dark of the Moon, "Chapter 8: Interlude with Jewel-Jaws" — "He should never have left his coat behind, Torisen thought. Its braided inserts of rhi-sar leather would have turned aside any shaft."
↑Dark of the Moon, "Chapter 4: First Blood" — "A man stepped forward, also black-clad but wearing the rhi-sar and steel armor of a Highborn."
↑The Sea of Time, "Chapter VI: Challenges", III — "contoured breastplates of shining steel, helmets fashioned to resemble the heads of lions or bears, woven strips of rhi-sar leather in all the colors of nature,"
↑Dark of the Moon, "Chapter 15: The Killing Ground" — "Its outer layer consisted principally of rhi-sar leather, boiled, beaten, and finally shaped to his body before it hardened."
↑The Sea of Time, "Chapter XII: A Season of Discontent", I — " 'One thing about rhi-sar leather: it doesn’t stain. White is an unlikely color for armor only because it’s so rare.' "
↑The Sea of Time, "Chapter IX: Into the Wastes", II — "high-riding buggies to wagons with wheels rimmed by inflated rhi-sar intestines."
↑To Ride a Rathorn, "Chapter XIII: Blood and Ivory", I — "A rising of rhi-sar."
↑The Sea of Time, "Chapter IX: Into the Wastes", III — "Lizards watched the caravan go by from the stubs of walls, frilled collars flaring red, gold, and blue in the wind. 'Lesser rhi-sar,' said one of the Kendar. 'Useful, but nothing compared to their ancestors.' "
↑The Sea of Time, "Chapter X: The Sea of Time", I — "It threw back its massive head and bolted them down. […] Both stood on their powerful hind legs, smaller forearms tucked almost delicately against their armored chests. The first was blue and mottled green, its scales edged with gold. The second was orange shading to the dark red of dried blood. Their lashing, scaly tails made up nearly half of their thirty-foot lengths."
