Masorax

The masoraxi are giant snakes native to the Cidan Mashada Desert on the Kisangi continent. They are massively long and wide, standing more than the height of two men at the thickest part of their bodies. The masoraxi are one of the few animals that manifest an elämää (Habi) that can be used by humans and this is how they are tamed for riding. A habieur must touch the masorax and allow their elämääs to mingle. If the habieur and the masorax are compatible, they will form a bond sufficient to allow the habieur to saddle the masorax. Sometimes this bond is so strong that that masorax will permit the habieur to help it when it is molting, rewarding the habieur with giant scales from which armor and shields may be made.

If the masorax and the habieur are not compatible, the habieur had best flee as fast as possible. Masoraxi are fast and deadly when irritated.

Basic Information

Anatomy

These giant snakes are mottled red and brown with tapering skulls and a huge forked tongue. Their eyes gleam red as blood. Their scales are equally massive, the scale of an adult masorax can form a shield entire for a warrior that covers fully half of the body.

Genetics and Reproduction

A female masorax who is ready for a mate will release a pheromone that attracts all the males of a breeding age. They will attempt to mate the female by injecting sperm into the ridged cloaca entry canal. The female will keep her cloaca closed until she finds two mates whose smell, taste and possibly elämää convince her to open the cloaca. The pair must mate with the female at the same time for the mating to be successful.

This will not end the mating ritual, a female will mate anywhere between five and six times.

Once mating is successful, the males will leave. The female carries the eggs inside her almost to full term, laying the eggs on the warm desert sands only a tenday before they are hatched. The female snake will dig a hole in the sand and curl her body about the eggs for the entire tenday period.

Growth Rate & Stages

Masoraxi stay with their mother until their first molting, after that they are on their own. The snakes grow fast and are big enough to ride by the time that one year has passed. They continue to grow at a slower rate for two years at which point they are full grown. Masoraxi clearly understand the secret of fueling life with their elämää for they have been observed to live for over two hundred years.

Ecology and Habitats

The masoraxi are creatures of the desert and they require both the heat and the sand of the great desert. Masoraxi drink almost no water and eat only meat.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The masoraxi are predators who can use their elämääs to sense the presence of prey, so they are not restricted to ambush predator tactics. Their primary prey is the dangerous Yaneri

Biological Cycle

They shed every season and their skin can provide a valuable resource for those who have the will to tame them or the courage to brave the red dunes.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The masorax are capable of sensing life around them by using their elämääs. This allows to them find and hunt prey beyond the ambush predator habits of normal snakes.

Lifespan

200+ years

Average Height

2 to 2.5 meters

Average Weight

90 to 110 kgs

Average Length

9 to 11 meters

Geographic Distribution

• Cidan Mashada