Hadje Sabertooth

The hadje sabertooth is a rare and almost mythic feline species found only within mountains of the Shamsi Desert, especially the ash-choked highlands and canyons of Emi Toubou. Hadje are one of the largest felines in Emynea, even when compared to a lion, having a short tail, a shaggy mane and infamously long canines. While the hadje is native only to these ashen mountains, it has cousin species in both the Frozen Wastes and the Continent Beyond. These massive, stocky cats strike awe in those that encounter them, for those both lucky and unlucky enough to cross their path! Making their dens within either the tar pits of Emi Toubou or within ashen caves, these lairs are much like those of a Manid Hyena. Because of their size, they hunt via ambush, finishing off prey caught in their tar pits or pouncing on those who come to the water's edge in oases. Apex Predator Nocturnal Strength Agonistic

Kaithur

First Ability Shil's Movement Hadje with Shil's Movement are able to walk, step on or move through Shil materials freely like smoke, ash, soot, tar and oil and cannot be harmed by these materials, immune to ash magic. They can also briefly turn into these materials, move as these materials do or travel along them before reforming elsewhere. This allows most hadje to make their dens within tar pits and leaves them right at home in their ashen habitat. Shil's Shield Those with Shil's Shield are immune to negative effects and/or damage from all ash magic and naturally occurring Shil materials (smoke, ash, char, oil, tar) regardless of temperature or pressure. They can easily breath in or despite these materials as well, unbothered and unimpeded. Shil's Step Those inheriting Shil's Step can enter and exit Shil's Plane via portals and travel the plane freely, without injury. These portals are Shil materials (smoke, ash, char, soot, oil, tar) large enough to fit through. Can bring another with them while maintaining contact. Tar pits and smoke are the most frequent portals for hadje, those with this ability making their lair within Shil's Plane. Second Ability Rithaldis' Eye Hadje with Rithaldis' Eye are able to see radiant energy (sunlight, solar plasma, ionizing radiation) and able to see using radiant energy, even through barriers. Most often used by hadje to identify or locate prey, as many creatures of Shamsi have radiant magic. They also might use this to evade radioactive regions of Shamsi and to avoid drinking irradiated water. Rithaldis' Form Those with Rithaldis's Form can convert parts of their body into a kind of radiant energy (photons, solar plasma, sunlight, ionizing radiation) or has these incorporated into their form. For most hadje, this manifests in their infamous fangs and in their claws but there are those whose fur or entire limbs can transform instead. Each individual is different. They are also immune to damage from radiant energy while in their form, including radiation.

Anatomy

Original Ancestor Lifespan Smilodon populator Saber-Toothed Tiger 20-40 years Weight Height Teeth 490-1,040 lbs 220-470 kg 4 ft 120 cm 11 in 28 cm Coloration The hadje sabertooth has a reddish coat with black stripes. In their magic form their fur will take on a dark, rusty orange or burnt umber shade and its stripes turn white, searing white like the sun itself!

In the distant past, the hadje would be recognized as a saber tooth tiger, or smilodon, though it has no actual relation to tigers or any other feline. According to local legend, this sabertooth survived only within northern Kanem but whether this was the case or it was one of many extinct species Lunil revived remains uncertain. Now, they are subject of myth, awe and urban legend, some outsiders doubting they exist at all. But such a beast seems fantastical, even apart from their sheer size, as similar species are only found in either the Continent Beyond and Frozen Wastes which are both outide of the Kingdom of Accia's long reach. Locals even claim they are trailed after by Solar Moth, perhaps attracted to their radiant magic. Hadje are larger than most lions with a short, hyena-like tail, a mane and infamously long fangs. These cats are large and strong enough to carry any prey, occasionally hoisting their kills onto their backs to eat within the privacy of their lair. While they have a sharp intelligence, their senses aren't quite as developped as other cats, their eyes small and unsophisticated. Their tail is also extremelely short, not useful for balance while running or climbing. Because of this and their sheer weight, they only climb trees or scale rocky enscarpments in order to ambush prey. Like other cats, their claws are retractable and their long heel bones grant them incredible jumping capablilities. In fact, their bodies are built for lunging at, pulling down and holding still even the largest of prey, surpassing lions and tigers in this regard. While most cats enact long, suffocating bites to kill, the bite of the hadje is quick and precise so as to avoid breaking their long teeth. They specifically aim to sever the spinal cord or jugular, relying on their sensitive whiskers when aiming. Even its incisors (teeth between canines) are curved and arched in order to stabilize its bite while its canines penetrate deeper. The hadje sabertooth is the most muscular and robustly built cat in Emynea, particularly its front legs. Their jaws have a much larger gape than other felines as well, opening to an astonishing 110 degrees! Its infamous fangs are actually slender and fragile, with serrations along the front and back, and their bite is designed for precise and deadly punctures by sacrificing bite force. Their skulls are as robust as their body and well proportioned while their muzzles are short and broad. It's cheeks are deepset and wide to support its large canines and its jaws have indentions to accomodate them. Once their prey is dead, hadje rely on their back teeth for shearing open skin, neither their teeth or bite suitable for crushing bones. Their bite is only a third as strong as a lions. This alongside their cumbersome canines mean that the hadje has to eat very slowly, transporting their kills into their lairs where they won't be bothered. Because they lack the ability to crush bones, they leave whatever is left outside their lair for manid hyena to finish off, sometimes even sharing a carcass with a trusted hyena. In fact, manid hyenas of Emi Toubou make their own lairs nearby, alerting their benefactor to intruders in exchange for their meals!

Habitat

Montane Semi-Desert Tropical Forest These feline are found exclusively within the mountain ranges of the Shamsi Desert, especially Emi Toubou. They are infamous within Aznag, Idraren Draren and Kanem for their powerful and bold nature though there are those who claim these beasts are only myth--rarely spotted or those who do rarely suriviving. Because they prefer to hunt by ambush, they are confined within mountainous and forested biomes and they have a particular preference for habitats influenced by Shil. This is because they seek out tar pits or smoke-strewn mountain peaks to host heir lairs, some going so far as to hunt using these features. Bones littering the edges of tar pits, caves or watering holes is a sure sign you've wandered into hadje territory... and it might already be too late!

Diet

Carnivore Mammalivore Herpetovore Avivore Mutualistic The sheer bulk of their body comes with a cost: they rely heavily on the presence of large herbivores to sustain themselves. This is perhaps why they make their home within the winding and dissected canyons and mountains of Emi Toubou and why they are so rare, their numbers few. Herbivores make their way into Emi Toubou from the surrounding desert in search of water, these mountains one of very few habitats in central Shamsi with an ample supply of water. Hadje sabertooths lurk within scrub, between rocky structures or even from branches of trees and within tar pits in order to ambush unwary prey. Hadje mainly target large herbivores, only hunting smaller prey when other food is scarce. They are opportunistic, not particularly fast or agile. The main strategy of these solitary, nocturnal predators is to grasp prey with their powerful front claws and finish them off with their precise bite to the spine or jugular. Their bite isn't partucilarly strong, a sacrific made in order to support their elongated teeth. To compensate, their bodies have become more robust in order to immobilize prey more easily. They also aren't adverse to scavenging but their stomachs and bite aren't quite as powerful as that of the Manid Hyena. Hadje have developped a mutualistic relationship with these hyena, allowing them to finish off parts of the carcass unaccessible to the hadje such as their bones and tough ligaments. If they are particularly close or familiar with each other, the hynena might even crack open these bones and share a portion of the marrow with the hadje! Meanwhile, some hadje are far more averse to these interaction, simply leaving what is left outside their lairs for the hyenas to salvage. Hadje are apex predators of Emi Toubou, the largest mammalian predator of Shamsi by far. They will prey on Raqs Gazelle, Azru Aoudad, Garkuwa Tortoise, Mefkaht Ostritch and Abu Qarn Oryx but are also known to target domesticated animals like Tamadla Goat, Shamsi Camel, Impangele Hen and Aa-hemet Donkey if not preying on their human shepherds! While they will often ambush prey within vegetation, winding canyons and near watering holes, they have one additional technique unique to the hadje sabertooth--they lay in wait within tar pits! Herbivores enjoy grazing the plants growing around these pits and every now and then specimens fall into or become trapped in this tar. Rather than gobbling these up immediately, the hadje will reposition those trapped along the edges of the pits to attract other predators! As beasts like the Ayyur Fox, ǁKo Wild Dog, Wata Jackal and Hangkok Lizard draw closer to feed on these helpless prey, the hadje will ambush them and pull these other carnivores into the pits before consuming both carcasses at its liesure. There are even accounts which claim hadje will consume al-Nil Crocodiles! Overall, hadje will eat any prey they can catch without pursuit as they are opportunistic ambushers, highly adaptable to even new and unfamiliar prey--they are surprisingly inteligent.

Reproduction

Viviparous Monogamous Biparental Subsocial Communication This species is relatively solitary and nocturnal, living in monogomous pairs and with offpsring of which they have very few thanks to limited resources. Hadje spend the majority of their day in liesure, relying on large meals and otherwise reserving energy. Because their numbers are few, competition for mates is minimal but fights can become lethal. When hadje do breed, the care they provide for their offspring is long lasting and meticulous. They carefully protect, feed and teach their children complex hunting techniques, usually siring several cubs at once. These cubs mature slowly, taking several years to fully develop. Their infamous teeth emerge between 12-19 months, growing alongside their baby teeth, and the muscles needed to enact their infamous bite don't develop until they are a year and a half old. They finally lose all of their baby teeth at 23-30 months old. Young hadje reach their full adult size at three years old, living exclusively within their parents' lair up until this point. It is once their teeth are fully grown that their parents teach them how to hunt. They communicate with each other via deep, sonorous vocalizations and even purring, a sound which can be heard over long distances within Emi Toubou.