Abyss Watcher

Abyss Watchers are an irritable breed but they are not violent predators if you respect them. They have the same level of intelligence as you or I. Violate their space, push them and yes, they will attack and kill. Respect them for the apex predators they are and for the intelligence they have and things will probably work in your favor should you wander across their path.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Abyss Watcher is a slender Drake though that does not mean it is not strong. It's lean form allows it to easily swim through the lava flows where they make their homes. The beautiful coloration's on this Drake are reminiscence of those same flows, deep red with streaks of black running along their bodies with their horns and spines also black. Their eyes, of which they have two, are bright yellow. Overall, males tend to be larger than females, roughly five feet larger on average and the horns on the head tend to be longer by a couple inches, usually three to five inches.

Biological Traits

A thing to note about the lifespan of the Abyss Watcher. While it is known that they live around 900 years, that is changed when a Bond is formed with an Eledhrim. The Eledhrim, with their immortality, share that magic with them, increasing the lifespan of their Draconic partner tenfold. As such, if this happens, and it does on occasion, the Abyss Watcher in question can live around 9,000 years.

Genetics and Reproduction

They mate for life, though they will take new mates if a previous one dies. The male will mate with the female and she will then carry the fertilized eggs for around ninety days as they develop before laying them in the nest. Once the clutch has been laid in the nest, the parents will alternate between guarding the nest until the eggs are ready to hatch, which happens about four months after that.

Growth Rate & Stages

When the infants hatch, they are roughly nine to twelve inches long. They have no spines or horns, just small bumps along their bodies where those spines will develop. At this point they are completely dependent on their parents and cannot regulate their own body temperatures very well. As such, they remain in the nest, where the temperature is optimal for their growth.
At the age of two, they gain their 'breath'. Unlike other Fire Drakie-kin, they don't exactly breath fire. Instead, they vomit up molten lava. It can come in a stream or fired out in a lava bomb in a variety of sizes. By this point they are also about two feet long and their spines and horns are starting to develop. The parents also start bringing live food for them to practice hunting.
When they reach the age of five, the parents let them leave the nest more freely, and they start learning to hunt out in the wild. At this point they are about ten feet long, their spines are much larger and they start becoming lava proof.
By the age of ten, they are haft their adult size, about thirty-five feet in length. This is also when they leave the nest and begin to make their own way. For the next several years, they do remain near the nest, though more often than not they sleep in their own burrow or tunnel. Within seven years of leaving the nest they are on their own and able to care for themselves fully. They would have also reached their full size of roughly seventy feet.
The last thing to happen is sexual maturity, which occurs around the age of fifty. For a breed that live upwards of nine hundred years, fifty

Ecology and Habitats

The optimal environments for this Drake are in and around the volcanic regions that can be found across Indarie. High temperatures do not bother this breed in the slightest and they will swim in lava flows. The apex predator of these regions, the Abyss Watcher is known for it's aggression towards those who trespass in it's territory.

Dietary Needs and Habits

An omnivorous species, they mostly eat iguanas, birds and other small lizards. Occasionally they'll eat the small fish that live in the waters around the volcano and fruits if they roam down to where vegetation can grow.

Civilization and Culture

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Draconic, though they can learn to speak languages such as Eledhrvish or Illarian.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Abyss Watchers get along with most other Drakie-kin, despite their somewhat irritable nature. The Ice Drakie are the ones that they get along with the worst, mostly because of their environmental and elemental associations. They don't exactly hate humans or Eledhrim nor any other 'Scaleless Two-Legs' as they refer to them but they would also prefer them to leave them alone. The rare occasion they actually get alone with those like us, they will grumble and occasionally growl. It's hard for adults to come to trust those who are not Drakie-kin, the young, Hatchlings and eggs are the best for the sake of imprinting. This is not someone should go into lightly, raising a young Abyss Watcher is difficult and getting them use to strangers, a challenge.

Lifespan

900 years

Conservation Status

Abyss Watchers are a stable species, mostly because the majority of people wouldn't want to get near their volcanic homes. Those who truly have the most interaction with them are the Than Eledhrim in the Lachadôr region of the continent of Gîlmunrîel, the most southern continent in Indarie. The Than Eledhrim, especially those in the regions capital, Elen Tamin, respect their neighbors, for they have found that they can live in peace, keeping distance from them for the most part.

Average Height

9-11 ft. at the shoulder

Average Weight

5,000-6,000 lbs.

Average Length

Females: 60-65 ft.
Males: 65-70 ft.