Mavernicks
"You know the Dragonborns did something right with the domestication of the mavernicks when they show more emotion than the lizardfolk." - Tiber Sectum, golden Dragonlord scholar
Mavernicks are the large beasts of burden that the Dragonborn use in the country of Nogahn Quiere. These giant lizards, typically 25ft long and 15ft high, are heavily desired by caravans due to their muscular build and limitless energy. They are cold-blooded and heavily reliant on the hot temperatures and sunlight to energize themselves. They are carnivores, and primarily eat smaller creatures like armadillos, snakes, and camels. Each mavernick is identified primarily by the scale color and the distinguishing features on the skull like frills, horns, and markings, which makes every mavernick unique and 2 are the same. Most domesticated mavernicks are raised at birth by shepherds and are one of the most reliant mounts one could ask for in the desert. The most famous mavernicks are the ones used by the Arbiter's guards, where they guard and protect the Arbiter of Nogahn Quiere, and they escort him using mavernicks. The natural weapons a mavernick utilizes is the strong jaws and claws as well as a quick tail, but their strongest weapon is the multiple senses they could use to search for prey, like night vision, infrared, and tremorsense. Attempts have been made to spread the use and breeding of mavernicks outside the borders of Nogahn Quiere, but no breeder has had success in having a mavernick live longer than 4 months in a non-desert habitat.
Basic Information
Anatomy
A mavernick is a large, 4-legged reptile that on average is 25ft long, 10ft wide, and 10ft tall at the shoulders. It has a long, slender neck and tail, and the torso is muscular. A mavernick can be identified by the frills, horns, markings and other distinguishing features on the head and skull since no 2 mavernicks are the same.
Growth Rate & Stages
They grow slowly, taking them about 40 years to fully mature into proper adults, but their lifespans easily reach beyond 200 years.
Ecology and Habitats
Mavernicks prefer the deserts of Nogahn Quiere, where they benefit from the hot temperatures and long cycles of daylight. Wild mavernicks are a predatory species that chase down their prey in open fields, relying on the short-bursts of speed to ambush their prey. Domesticated mavernicks are better adjusted to the more temperature climates outside Nogahn Quiere, though they rarely travel outside the borders.
Dietary Needs and Habits
While far from being the apex predator of Nogahn Quiere, they primarily hunt smaller or equal-sized reptiles, birds and mammals, like lizards, snakes, seagulls, armadillos, and camels. They occasionally fight off larger creatures like elephants, and small groups of mavernicks have been known to fend off top predators like purple worms. Mavernicks are primarily ambush predators, using their low profile and stalker approach to close the distance to their target before sprinting when either spotted or close enough where the prey can't escape. While exact speeds are hard to calculate, a mavernick can easily outrun a human in a short 30-second burst.
Biological Cycle
Mavernick scales don't grow with the increasing body weight and size and often shed every 2 years and grow news one in place. Once they reach maturity, this cycle of shedding is slowed to every 10 years.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Mavernicks are mostly solitary creatures, only forming small packs during mating season and when a mavernick is fighting another creature that is not a mavernick. A mavernick parent will protect and care for their young until the age of 15, where they can start fending for themselves. At the age of 40, that's when mavernicks can begin the search for a mate, though most mavernicks won't find a suitable partner until they reach the age of 90-100.
Domestication
While the process of domestication of the first mavernicks by the Dragonborn of Nogahn Quiere are long lost, the modern domestication process involves raising the young at birth under the care of a shepherd. The parent is typically already domesticated and thus is allowed to interact with the young with no repercussions. When a mavernick reaches the age of 20, the Shepard begins conditioning the creature into hauling loads that ever so increase the weight as the weeks role by, rewarded with treats for their accomplishments.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Mavernicks are primarily used as beasts of burden, and the House of Airgead uses them to transport many goods and services between Nogahn Quiere and Rockdelven. They are heavily desired since their muscular build allows them to haul heavier loads than horses or camels, and they can march for longer periods of time since their energy directly correlates with the sun. Other uses include their scales, which has been integrated into multiple armor sets, which either makes it lighter than conventional iron or provide a special type of resistance if added to an iron base.
Facial characteristics
Each mavernick has a unique set of frills, horns, markings and scale colors from each other, and no 2 mavernicks are the same.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Nearly the entire population of wild mavernicks reside the deserts of Nogahn Quiere and rarely travel out since they heavily rely on the hot temperatures and longer cycles of daylight in order to survive.
Average Intelligence
They are smart enough to be domesticated like horses, dogs, and other mammals. They inhibit some awareness of cleanliness and are one of the few reptiles that care for their young. It is believed that the mavernicks of Nogahn Quiere and the multiple raptor species in Albish Granova are nearly identical in terms of intelligence. They can also ex[ress the basic spectrum of emotions like happiness, disgust, sadness, and anger, in much the same way a horse would show their emotion.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Mavernicks have developed multiple unique senses that help them survive the deserts they inhabit. Not only do they see in the dark, but it is also believed that they can see infrared light, and their sense of touch is so keen that they also have a form of tremorsense, though it only goes out to 30ft. Their sense of smell, hearing, and taste is nothing special.
Lifespan
200 years
Average Height
10 feet at the shoulders, 15 feet at the top of the head
Average Weight
6,500 pounds
Average Length
25 feet from tail to snout
Average Physique
Nearly all mavernicks, regardless if wild or domesticated, have long, slender tails; powerful, muscular torsos; tall, slender neck; and a narrow skull. The greatest difference between domesticated mavernicks from the wild ones is that their limbs are far more muscular since they were bred to be beasts of burden to the denizens of Nogahn Quiere. Wild mavernicks have slimmer limbs but muscular shoulders, allowing them to move incredibly fast in short bursts.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Most mavernicks have a scale color from the range of dusty red, tan, dirty brown, vibrant green, fleshy brown to desaturated blue.
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