(Pictured above, a Male - also known as a Regal - Lisk warning off trespassers)
The Keystone species of the Parchbog is the Cave Lisk, descended from the King Lisks (aka Basilisks) of old, the Cave Lisk consumes the mushroom Gorgon's Cap which is deadly to most life due to the petrification properties of its spores, however thanks to their inherited Resistance to Petrification ability the Cave Lisk can consume and digest it, storing the spores in a special lining in their lungs for later use. When threatened they can inhale a massive amount of air and expel a Petrifying Fog which can both cover their escape and afflict their opponent with partial petrification which can be lethal.
Cave Lisks were responsible for forming the parch bog millennia ago by slowly petrifying the clay, silt, and plant life of the Old Bog until it came to form the massive complex we see today. they did this to create an ideal habitat for Gorgon's Cap which is their main food source, they use their powerful beaks to form tunnels and galleries in the bog's drier Middle Strata to shelter their young and their crops of Gorgon's Head.
Cave Lisks reproduce by stealing the eggs of birds and reptiles which thanks to the same magical circumstances that led to the birth of the first Basilisk will lead to baby Lisk Hatching, if the egg is a bird's the hatchling will have four legs and wings, if the egg was a reptile it will have no wings but it's hide is thicker and it's petrifying breath more potent.
Female Lisks are Blue and Grey while Male Lisks sport vibrant plumage.
Cave Lisks are typically shy and flighty on the surface and Upper Strata, preferring to conserve their precious supply of spores, however, when trapped or encountered near their nesting galleries they become suicidally ferocious and will swarm, claw, bite, and petrify their foes.
Lisks are omnivorous and opportunistic scavengers and will prey on small animals, their main source of food is the Gorgon's cap and they also consume a large amount of clay to help resist its effects, the guano from this mixed with more clay and mud creates the incredibly hard strata of the Parch Bog.
Eggs and Baby Lisks are the prey of Cave Racoons which make expeditions into their galleries and are smart enough and nimble enough to pose a threat. Mud Mephits which are immune to their petrifying breath will also wreak havoc on the nests out of spite, and malicious glee.
An adult cave lisk is an unappetizing prey for most animals but is a favored prey of Fire Skizards who lie in wait near their gallery caves to ambush them.
Their most deadly predator is the massive Dire Gryphon which hunting in packs will cast Dazzling Rays to blind them and Sun's Ward to protect them as they raid their nests, killing and consuming huge scores of them. this tactic has served as a natural check on the Lisk's numbers and the warfare between the two species has defined the ecology of the Parch Bog, Dire Gryphons abduct Lisk eggs and chicks for their own young by swallowing them and storing them in their gullet, they also will eat the heart, brain, and liver of adult Lisks, avoiding their petrifying flesh or stomach and molt and engage in rapid shedding and self plucking in the safety of their nests to rid themselves of their partially petrified fur and feathers.
While Cave Lisks live close to their food source Winged Lisks will make regular trips in great raucous flocks at dawn and dusk to collect plant and wood matter to add to the compost that feeds the Gorgon's Cap, using their beaks to scrape off bark and to break apart rotted wood. They also will seek out the nests of song birds, Geese, Woodpeckers, and Raptors to steal their eggs for their own reproductive process. This is the most dangerous time for their young who while being protected from subterranean threats by the Ground Lisks are vulnerable to attacks from flying intruders.
Ground Lisks will meanwhile venture out during the night to collect forest debris and the eggs of Pine Fowel, Turtles, and Garials, they will remain close to the nest the rest of the time to protect the tunnels from subteranean attack and to tend the compost heaps feeding their Gorgon's Head colononies.
Relationship to Sapiants/Humanoids/Kith
The Tribes of the Council of Green Fires see them as holy animals and adorn their greatest warriors and chieftains in their plumage and use arrows coated in their spit to fell mighty beasts like the Dire Gryphon or Cave Bear, a rite of passage for some tribes is to sneak into their galleries and return with an egg which is then hatched and raised as a Tamed Lisk, other tribes see entering the galleries as sacrilege and wars have been started over this issue. The Green Fires Tribes use the Lisks' spit and guano to create the great Mudbergs to live in and have even journeyed out in war parties to reduce or drive off the Dire Gryphons which enrage the Aaracockra who revere the great beasts as pulling the Golden Lady's chariot across the sky, as well as angering the Paladins of Juneaus who see all Gryphons as the children of their Patron God and use them as war mounts.
The Tree-Kith of the Malabog Pine Woods surrounding the Parchbog see the Cave Lisks as a nuisance and a threat to their hunting grounds and tree top villages and have gone on their own campaigns to exterminate them, they use the Bark Skin spell to get close to Lisks and slay them with their flint spears and knives which can cut and pierce their tough hide better than steel.
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