Troven Pinti are a common tree from the interior/highlands of the larger islands on the Espic homeworld.

Their final, 'millennium' form is much bigger, and exhibits much more ordinary treelike behavior for most megaflora throughout known space.

Its after they've grown to the size pictured above, after branching out as a seedling, that they take all their stored up energy and go on a bit of a walkabout, moving at prodigious speeds for a few weeks, pausing every few days to sample the soil, sun, wind, and water supplies. Its while resting that they send down temporary taproots, then pick up and move off again, collecting a memory catalog of all the best places. After about a decade their muscles start to harden and their dormant 'rest' periods get longer and longer until they reach their best remembered location to settle down and bear fruit for the next thousand years or so.

Through senses not entirely understood (but possibly pheromonal), they usually avoid patches 'claimed' by other Troven Pinti, though occasional conflicts result in the two young trees clashing, fighting until one cedes or the well armored 'braincase' in the center trunk is destroyed. Such fights are awesome to witness, and terrifying - hence why Espic tend to build in places not normally favored by the Troven Pinti.

Although it functions as a brain, the primary muscular material that forms the central node also functions as a pump, able to move water and sugars throughout its vascular system for temporary bursts of speed. They retain this node even into adulthood, though the only mobile part of the tree at this point are the upper branches of the tree, and then only to gently track the sun as it traverses the sky.

The Espic tell stories that they discovered the means to control the Troven Pinti wanderers before they even learned to make fire. Standing in the central 'crown' where all the branches and legs come together, the armored brain is actually exposed to the touch of an inquisitive Espic, and if trained, she may learn to stimulate the nodes that not only cause the Troven Pinti to walk, stop, or put down taproots, but also to steer and control the speed at which they move (up to 40 kilometers per hour for short bursts, or 20 kph over sustained 'marches'.)

In prehistoric times they were used as war machines, carrying weapons and supplies, and serving as battle platforms. Some attempts to bard them were made during the rise to metal age, but their performance was much more limited due to the weight and confining heat of the metal or wooden armor - additionally, such tamed Troven Pinti still only lasted seven to ten years before putting down root where they stood if possible, or going berserk if still confined. Certain treatments were developed for the well being of their steeds, with careful pruning, tree surgery, methods for fighting Troven Pinti pathogens, and nutrient solutions to soak their feet when off duty.

Today, they're considered a protected species, though some smaller island nations sometimes still use them as beasts of burden, releasing tamed Troven after only five years of use usually. Adults of the species can live thousands of years if they find good high altitude locations to settle down, but lowlands trees can still live four, five hundred years, and blossom twice every local year with millions of delicate yellow star shaped flowers.

Note, the bug-like 'tail' is a secondary energy storage node that only juveniles have. The Troven Pinti store sugars created through photosynthesis in it. If lost or damaged, the tree will grow another over the course of a few weeks. When a Troven Pinti's journey ends, the storage node is absorbed slowly into the trunk, usually appearing as a strange ribbed oval shield on the dawn side of the tree.