You are in the savanna plains of Asia, 40 million years ago.

The air in the region was warm and humid, typical of the Eocene, but the surrounding landscape was a mix of forest and open, arid floodplain. A low, rhythmic tearing sound drew your attention toward a grove of young trees. Through the haze, a shape began to materialize, far larger than any elephant.

It was an Urtinotherium.

Though it hadn't yet reached the size of its successor Paraceratherium, it was truly massive. Its back was at least ten feet off the ground, covered in sparse, bristly hair. It walked on four sturdy, pillar-like legs, moving with surprising grace for its bulk.

You watched, frozen, as it fed. Its head was long and held low to the ground, characterized by a sloping, primitive forehead without horns. As it stripped foliage from a branch, you saw its prominent, dagger-like lower incisors, jutting forward from its jaw. They weren't weapons of combat with other animals, but highly specialized tools for slicing through tough, late-Eocene vegetation.

As it noticed you, it didn't roar. It simply stopped, its small eyes focusing, and let out a deep, resonating huff. The sound vibrated in your chest. It was a close relative of the rhino, and it may carry a similar, unpredictable temperament…