Hellbenders

Hellish fluffballs of Pyros

"We took them to be demons at first-- they looked as if they crawled out of Hell, and were bent on going back. They set two of our vessels on fire, although, if you ask me, it appeared they had never experienced objects so large being flammable. They seemed profoundly disturbed by the whole ordeal..." -Shur Felban, a sailor on the Grand Wolf, the third ship in captain Olia Kurutsz' expeditionary fleet.
Generally docile creatures, despite their name and appearance, with a knack for pyromancy.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Hellbenders are lanky creatures standing about three feet tall with crimson red skin covered in mucus. They have three long, clawed fingers (including the thumb) on each hand, which are about the same length as their lower arms. Their two legs end in long, singular claws just below the knee, on which they balance with the aid of their semi-prehensile tails that end in a small claw. Their heads are somewhat short and flat in comparison with the rest of their body, with curved horns extending from the back of the skull, giving them a slightly demonic appearance. They also have small feathery gills on the sides of their heads that retract while on land, but allow them to breath underwater.

Genetics and Reproduction

Hellbenders reproduce like fish ...go look that up if you want to lose your appetite. After that, the eggs are laid in shallow pools on the beach filled with water that is either heated by the volcanoes or the Hellbender. The males protect these fiercely, and it is the one time that Helbenders have been observed to be aggressive on their own accord rather than being pushed to it.

Growth Rate & Stages

When Hellbenders hatch, the tadpoles are moved to larger pools protected by the mother (which if an egg-defending dad scratches you, the angry momma will tear your throat out. Don't cross a Hellbender momma protecting her babies.) Many tadpoles drift out to sea, where they are usually eaten by something. No one knows what happens to the ones that don't get eaten. Presumably something else eats them.
Once the tadpoles become pollywogs, they start moving about on land more, where they begin to act more or less as human children. It takes about an Allergrennian year for eggs to hatch, about seven to become pollywogs, and 10-20 to become adults.

Ecology and Habitats

Hellbenders live in the border waters between Pyros and Aquos, although they also live extensively on the shores of Pyros. ANywhere warm with water is where they enjoy living, pretty much.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Hellbenders mainly eat fish that dwell in Aquos, although they will also eat Kobak larva that crawl on land occasionally.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Hellbenders live in very, very large families of multiple generations. These families are organized into larger groups in the immediate vicinity (usually with at least a little relation), called a Congress. Families are ruled by the largest and strongest female, and each Congress is ruled by the strongest and largest female of the family rulers, and is called the Matriarch. Hellbender Matriarchs don't actually do a whole lot in the way of "ruling", per se, however. Hellbenders don't really do much in the way of organization. Things just sorta happen. If a member is having difficulties taking on a certain task, everyone else will simply help. Everyone is willing and ready to join anyone else in doing anything, whether it be defending a nest, constructing one of their many winding, complex tunnels, hunting a particularly large creature, or testing the flammability of a foreign object.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

It is generally accepted in Pyros, even among the more aggressive species such as Umbers and Hellions, that no one dare touches the Hellbenders. They are free to be cute and dumb and dangerous without outside interference, and the Hellbenders are ok with that arrangement.

Facial characteristics

Hellbender faces fall squarely in line with the strange 21st-century slang word of "derp". They have small black eyes on wide, flat heads whose mouths are always in a slight smile, with small nostrils and crowned by curved horns.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Border waters of Aquos and Pyros, coast of Pyros.

Average Intelligence

It is generally unclear what the true intelligence level of Hellbenders is. It could be assumed that, by way of having a language (albeit a strange one), that they are generally speaking very intelligent, but as most either avoid or are avoided by Hellbenders, translators are few and very far between.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Hellbenders don't really have much in the way of sight, as their eyes are fairly small, but their senses of smell, hearing, and touch are extraordinary. Hellbenders can hear and feel things moving in the water, which is how they hunt and avoid predators such as Kobak in the waters between Pyros and Aquos. They also are alleged pyromancers, as the palms of their hands can heat up to such temperatures that water will boil and flammable objects with spontaneously combust, but no one has been able to learn their language and ask them if they're magic or just weird.

Civilization and Culture

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Hellbenders have one language, called Alleganiensis, which sounds to outsiders like lots of clicks and bubbles. Which is effectively what it is.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

It is unclear what the purpose is, but Congresses will often convene for days at a time, emerging from their complex tunnel systems and causing so much noise it is said passing sailors must plug their ears lest they go deaf. This is fairly odd, considering Hellbenders as a whole aren't a very chatty species. Things happen without words directing them, and conversations are minimal. That is, as far as anyone knows. Who knows what happens in the labyrinthine tunnels by the sea?
Who wants to?
I sure don't.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Nobody in Pyros really cares about Hellbenders. They're just the dumb, weird neighbors next door that set things on fire and babble nonsense. To everyone else, however, Hellbenders are seen as enigmas, as they appear and act weirdly, but are in fact quite passive. As for Hellbenders, they don't care. If someone gets hurt by the Outside People, everyone in the Congress simply beats and/or burns them to death. And then they return to their normal lives. Wash rinse repeat.

Scientific Name

Cryptobranchus lacertignis

Lifespan

30 Allergrennian years

Average Height

3 feet

Average Weight

20-30 pounds

Average Physique

Hellbenders are mostly fairly thin in stature, by human standards at least. Some individuals in areas or times with abundant prey can grow quite large waist-wise, but beyond that they generally retain their slight build.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Hellbender skin is a slick orange-red usually, with some being varying degrees of mottled with or of brown.