Longleg

Overview

Ancient, lethargic beings. The Longleg predates Albiethan civilization and many other species now inhabiting the world.

Taxonomy

The Longleg is very simple to describe, as its most common appearance is that of a boulder. Few other than natural historians have actually seen the true appearance of a Longleg, which has been depicted as something stuck between crustacean and a nurse shark. Upon birth, these creatures scuttle beneath rocks nearby and mold with them. Their many thin, tentacle-like veins then inject themselves into the rock, and the stone becomes a natural part of the Longleg itself. Longlegs do not have a limit on how long they can grow, and it is even believed that, provided they can obtain consistent and sufficient nutrition, can live untold lengths of time. There are even cases in some of the less inhabited areas of the Somber Lands and Far Lands of entire mountains lifting up and skittering around.
A Longleg can usually only be identified when it moves, and they tend to move incredibly rarely. Longlegs primarily eat minerals, especially ones rife with Element, and they only need to feed once every seven to ten weeks. When they have exhausted a feeding spot, their numerous legs, a number adaptive to the size of their rock, lift up their makeshift shelter and carry them to a new location.

Survival

The Longleg, due to its immensely insular protection and camouflage system, has no known predators when it is fully grown. Bizarrely, it seems that the Longleg fits into the natural order of things much the way plant life and geographical landmarks do. A Longleg can provide shelter and housing for dozens of other creatures. Longlegs that grow big enough can hold entire ecosystems in their rocks.
When a Longleg is still in its infancy, a period that lasts over a hundred years, it is still vulnerable to some of the hungrier and more ambitious predators in Orde. A particularly tenacious Lacer may hide at the edges of a river and attempt to strike up at the underbelly of a moving Longleg, or a pack of malnourished Kjeltol might attempt to surround a moving Longleg and flip it. It is rather rare that a Longleg is successfully bested, however, as at the first sign of danger they need simply to lower their rock and retreat.