Rokadno
Called Whales by humans because that is basically what they are, Rokadno are a genus of colossal Ekandra or aquatic reptiles. There are only a handful of species of this reptile. They roam the oceans of Planet Collena, and the largest populations can be found in the The Sunken Lands and the Silver Sea.
These creatures are among the largest animals on Collena. They can be upwards of 12 meters long and weigh up to 35 tons. Rokadno can swim up to 55 kilometers per hour. They are also among the longest lived animals on the planet, able to live for around 500 Ryears, which is equal to 640 years on Earth.
Rokadno are apex predators and nothing in the oceans is safe from their jaws, though the vast majority of what they eat does consist of fish and large cephalopods. They are not a threat to Regalti and there are very few recorded attacks. The Regalti have an extensive number of myths and legends built up around these creatures.
Evolution
Collena's oceans rarely have a large apex predator like the Rokadno. Whenever mass extinctions hit Collena, large ocean predators are often the first to go. Going back through the fossil record, large reptiles similar to the Rokadno, and large birds like the Rokofa have continuously evolved for millions of years into the ocean's apex predator, replacing each other every so often.
Rokadno have great vision and well deveoped sense of taste. They have no ears. When in darker waters, they get around by tasting the water and telling what is around them. They also have pressure sensing organs that run throughout their bodies.
Classification
Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Ekandra
Family: Wayenandra
Genus: Rokadno
Common Name(s):
Rokadno(Vevari, Common)
Whales(Human)
Geographic distribution
Eating Habits
Rokadno eat close to 500kg of food each day. If being the largest apex predator of the oceans wasn't already enough, Rokadno are also intelligent enough to hunt in packs. They often put aside their differences and solo lifestyle to take out large groups of other animals. Often over a dozen of them gather in a hunting frenzy, chasing fish, sea birds, other ekandra, and all manner of other creature in the water. These creatures attempt to get away only to end up in the jaws of another rokadno with its mouth wide open approacing from the opposite direction.
Rokadno usually hunt in shallow waters, though occasionally they can dive up to a thousand meters in the water. They can hold their breath for roughly two hours making hunting in deeper water rather easy. Rokadno have also been known to dive out of the water onto floating ice and even on land to get to a particular prey animal, though this is quite reckless given their size. They can beach themselves easily.
Rokadno and Regalti
To some of the regalti, rokadno have religious significance. They were said to be messengers and guardians of the God/dess of the Earth and Sea: Kellentar. Rokadno had a gentle relationship with some regalti because of this. Regalti often released heir extra catch into the sea, and rokadno (and other Ekandra) got a free meal. They don't understand why they get the free meal, just that it's free and strange land creatures give it to them occasionally.
The Fevarik have temples of Kellentar that are on the ocean edge, with a large pool of water that connects to the sea. Often feeding ceremonies are performed here, with several tons of fish dumped in the water. A couple of rokadno will appear at regular intervals to feed, having become used to the regalti. These creatures have been observed fighting each other for the right to go to the temple and accept the offering. Often the oldest or largest ones end up winning.
Other Regalti hunt the Rokadno on the open ocean, and had done so for thousands of years for the creature's oil and fat. Around 500 years ago, this increased in an industrial scale. When the Tevarians took over most of Collena, they hunted the rokadno around the Kenerif continent in large numbers to increase their access to oil.
The creatures, not used to regalti hostility, started to fight back, attacking virtually any ship in the area. During the War of Purges, The Tevari 6th Naval Fleet was famously stopped from invading the city of Amnuashor when half of their fleet had damage to the rudders, preventing them from turning properly. This was only temporary and the city was taken. Tevari also started filling the sunken lands with mines in the hope of killing every last rokadno, but due to their pressure sensing abilities, they easily evaded them throughout the war.
After the war ended, it was several decades before the rokadno fully realized that the ones responsible for hunting them had disappeared. The oldest ones that remembered regalti that were once kind to them started to travel to the temples of Kellentar again. There is a very large temple in Redsrei that still feeds the rokadno once every month.
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