Skeyll
Basic Information
Anatomy
Skeyll are a tall, powerful reptilian race. They have elongated skulls with their eyes positioned mostly on either side of their heads. They have no external ears. Their snouts can be long and thin or short and blunt. Claws tip each of their digits. They have thick tails measuring about half their body length, which they use as a weapon in combat, to balance when walking on land, and to help swim in water. Normally, they walk on two legs, but Skeyll can move much faster over short distances on all fours.
Skeyll coloration varies according to their environment. Tropical Skeyll are varying shades of mottled green. Plains Skeyll vary their coloration with the seasons, gradually changing from grass green in the wet season to yellow in the dry season, but always bearing white stripes. Desert Skeyll are tan or brown, typically darker on their backs and lighter on their bellies. All Skeyll are able to change their skin color to a minor extent to indicate mood.
Unlike other reptiles, Skeyll are mesothermic rather than ectothermic. This means while they are able to partially maintain a steady body temperature through metabolism, they still rely on the ambient heat in their environment to adjust it. To that end, each Skeyll sports a pair of wings emerging from between the shoulder blades and the spine. If these were ever used for flight, they are now largely vestigial. Instead, Skeyll use their wings to rapidly gather heat by spreading them wide in direct sunlight and pumping cooler blood through the membrane while the newly warmed blood is flushed into the rest of the body. Otherwise, the wings are kept folded close to their bodies.
Females are the larger of the two sexes and grow bony crests from the top of their skulls. The crest extends about half the length of the skull. Colorful markings decorate it that grow brighter or duller to indicate mood or receptiveness to mating. It is often tipped with short bony horns, but not always.
Biological Traits
Females are the larger of the two sexes and grow bony crests from the top of their skulls. The crest extends about half the length of the skull. Colorful markings decorate it that grow brighter or duller to indicate mood or receptiveness to mating. It is often tipped with short bony horns, but not always.
Ecology and Habitats
Because they are partially cold-blooded, Skeyll live exclusively in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of Kaot. They are capable of traveling through the middle latitudes during the warmer months, but since these latitudes are already populated by Humans and they cannot remain throughout the winters, they do not do so often.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Skeyll have sensory pits on their snouts around their nostrils that detect infrared wavelengths, specifically those given off by living organisms and especially organisms the Skeyll normally hunt for food.
Civilization and Culture
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Skeyll regularly and readily engage in trade with Merse and Humans. Because they are geographically restricted by their own biology, they must rely on trade to gain access to strategic and luxury resources only located in other parts of Kaot. However, they are incredibly defensive and possessive of their lands. While Skeyll are not explicitly xenophobic, Merse and Humans vastly outnumber them in population, and Skeyll require huge tracts of land to support their mostly carnivorous dietary needs. And since they cannot survive in higher latitudes, they are reluctant to share their homelands with outsiders.
Relations with Merse are fairly relaxed. Since Merse cannot survive on land and Skeyll cannot survive underwater, the two have virtually no territorial disputes. Beaches near Merse settlements are often used as basking grounds and trade hubs. Skeyll trade land goods (usually metal items and alchemical mixtures) for Merse valuables (marine foods and animal products), as well as exchange philosophy and cultural items such as art, songs, and folklore. This is not to say tension between the two species does not exist. Ancient Skeyll fished Merse for food, believing just another animal. Though dozens of generations have passed, some Merse still hold a grudge.
Dealings with Humans are less stable. The adaptive species seems capable of thriving anywhere and continually press into Skeyll territory. Skirmishes occur often, especially where denser Human populations push against Skeyll borders. Despite this, the two species do engage in uneasy trade since some luxury items, building materials, flora, and fauna can only be found in Skeyll lands. Likewise, Skeyll can only receive some resources hidden away in the middle and upper latitudes from Human traders and merchants. However, both species have managed to coexist in relative peace in a few locations such as the city of Ma'jesh.
Lifespan
130 - 150 years
Average Height
Standing
Females: 2.7 - 3.4 m/9 - 12 ft Males: 2 - 2.7 m/7 to 10 ft
Average Weight
Females: 400 - 540 kg/900 - 1200 lbs
Males: 320 - 450 kg/700 - 1000 lbs
Average Length
On all fours
Females: 4 - 5.5 m/13.5 - 18 ft Males: 3 - 4.5 m/10.5 - 15 ftRemove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments