"Ore Chewer"

Metal boot on stone sounded in the workshop as Hakur made his way down. Each step was followed by the excited rattle of chains. It was food time. In his hands, Hakur lugged a hefty wooden box. He put it down onto the steel floor of the workshop room. It was warm and dry down here. From the darkness at the edges of the room, eyes of molten red glared back at him. He kicked open the box and grabbed a solid chunk of reddish brown ore from within. Bringing the lantern in the other hand he walked towards the creature chained in the room's darkness.
Held to the wall was an amalgam of rock and metal. A body of black basalt shifted as it came into the light. The hulk of a creature had chunks of a dull silver metal along its rocky exterior. Angry molten eyes continued to glare back from deep within its basalt eye sockets. "You were a tough little rock to break after all," Hakur said with a smug smile on his face. "Guess we can put you upstairs with the others then." The creature's jagged stone maw opened and molten streaks glowed from within. A sound escaped like that of quaking stone and the tearing of rock. Hakur cringed. "I guess you are staying down here for a little longer then," he said leaning in as close as he dared. Placing the lantern on the floor, he offered the reddish ore into the rocky maw. It emitted a crunch like a tunnel full of miners on a rich deposit. "Now this might hurt a bit." He hefted a large picked blade off his back. Those molten eyes stared in full knowing of what came next. With a series of swift prying motions, cold metal fell to the steel floor of the workshop. The clang of metal was dwarfed by something far more terrifying. A sound like the viscous tearing of rock before an earthquake, the seismic roar of a volcano before it spews. The pain-induced screams of a Silca.

Basic Information

Biological Traits

Nature's Blacksmiths

This breed of Silca is capable of forming a near perfectly pure outer layer of solid metal that it uses for protection. It sources ore veins for consumption as part of its natural diet. In the wild this makes them rather rare due to the lack of easily available ores although with human intervention, they can be farmed in great numbers for metal refinement and separation.

Eyes are the Windows to the Core

Some use these beasts in cruel ways and others try more humane methods of harvest. It is unknown whether they are sentient or not although those molten eyes unnerve even the bravest of souls. They appear to "speak" or communicate in some way that sounds like the breaking of rock and quaking of earth.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

"Ore Chewers" are a breed of Silca that are stored in steel workshops. They are fed the ore that is mined nearby and exude molten metal from their burning core that hardens on their surface into chunks. Using these creatures, people are able to get high purity metal as well as properly isolate highly reactive metals like aluminium. These creatures need to be superheated occasionally to keep their metabolism going. This is done by placing them within a heated forge or in the wild, they would swim through molten rock for a while. It is useful to note that keeping them at lower temperatures makes them sluggish and thus easier to transport without trouble.

Scientific Name

Silca

Lifespan

Unknown

Average Height

2.2 - 3.5 m