[quote]On another note, what's with all the color talk about alaunts? Is that a myth, romanticized "showie" talk? Or absolute necessity and staple in alaunt descendents? [/quote] You mean the white thing? It's just a leftover from bloodsports (hunting included), valued primarily for the ease of finding and tending to the wounds, but another big part was seeing the blood on white dogs instead of not getting the same fix from a darker dog getting shredded. Now, it's pretty clear that all kinds of colourings existed and continue to exist in various alaunt-esque breeds and bandogs, but just like with everything else, trends decide traditions. Darker dogs were preferred for guarding duties in general, although details such as colour (or even type) surely weren't at the top of the priority list for the majority of keepers.