Skyswimmer

"No beast is larger or more terrifying than the skyswimmer. This magnificent creature seems to stretch beyond the horizon and its girth as wide as homes. Though many fearsome predators call the skies their home, none may claim the title of emperor among the clouds. We should be thankful to Tay that we who are lowly call the earth our home, temporary as it may be."

-Archaic Yhajar's Natural History of Oara, Second Ed.

It is no surprise that the world of Oara has no shortage of both wondrous and terrifying creatures. The land boasts fauna large and small that can wreck a man in the blink of an eye. In times past the earth vomited up monstrosities from within its depths during the Resurgences. The oceans contain their own nightmares beautiful as they are dangerous. It is expected, then, that the land Those Above cast mortalkind upon maintains a host of natural predators who call the skies home. The skyswimmer is one such predator. Massive in length and size, this serpentine creature is of both legendary proportions and legendary reputation. Few are seen in the wild, and most sightings were considered simple hearsay much like the sailor tales about the sea serpents of yore. It wasn't until, in the aftermath of a Bysian storm, the body of a dead one was found on the northern coasts of Citadel near the city-state Ourgankkar.
Despite its immense size and the prey on which it feeds, skyswimmers are thankfully docile. Though they hunt what current natural historians assume to be various airborne creatures, they are not aggressive towards land-based organisms. With Bysian storms becoming a more frequent occurrence in the last fifty years, more and more sightings of skyswimmers have cropped up. Some, even, reportedly sighted flying above the city of Teimor near the Tower itself. Why this may be is uncertain, but the creatures almost undoubtedly were aware of those gawking down below. Thankfully, these flying behemoths did not descend and gobble up whomever remain below, though they could do so easily.

Basic Information

Anatomy

As stated before, a skyswimmer's size is immense. These gargantuan beasts are unfathomably long and how they stay afloat in the air is still baffling to modern day scientific thought. What is known is known only because of the fortune mortalkind has received by coming across the corpse of one. Though it is suspected the specimen was of adult proportions, until more studies can be accomplished there is no way to know for certain. The only dimensions and descriptions provided describe this one specific specimen found.
The length of the found skyswimmer was around one hundred twenty feet. The width estimated to be about ten feet while its height from the bottom of its stomach to its back was measured to be nearing twenty feet.
The creature held no limbs whatsoever much like a snake or eel. Instead, its head and face seemed to erupt in a crown of spines almost like the whiskers on some species of fish. Four, two on either side of its head, were longer than the rest with a dull greenish-gray coloration (much like the rest of its body). They were rigid and did not bend easily. Two more, one on either side of its head just above the prior spines, were also rigid but smaller and curved towards its back just slightly at the tips. Four appendages rose just behind the head appearing as large, bulbous antennae ending in a spiny point. A small ridge line began at the top of its head and progressed all the way down its "spine" with a line of large fin-like spines running down its entire length. The "face" of the creature appeared to hold no eyes. Instead, there was a sort of mantle that began on its back that ended around the face almost like a cage, sculpting to its head. The "mouth" looked more like an enormous bristle of pointed appendages or tentacles. Much more flexible and of softer organic material than the head spines, it is uncertain if these appendages were used to ingest food or act as sensory organs.
The skin of the skyswimmer was slick and oily, covered entirely in a sticky substance assumed to be naturally produced much like the skin oils of many other biological organisms. The purpose of this oil is unknown. The skin itself, though tough, is also rather rubbery much like a squid's body. The top portion is tougher than the bottom portion. The bottom has hundreds of small, circular pad-like growths almost like suction cups.
The entire body bears a coloration of grey, green, and brownish-beige. The skyswimmer's back bore a deep green coloration which alternating stripes of dark green and light beige. The greyish-green coloration manifested mostly on its "head-cage" and spines while the brownish-beige made up most of the color on its face tentacles and underside. Small streaks in its skin, mostly on its side, bore no color but instead had an almost glassy appearance. It's hypothesized that these streaks are the source of glowing light on the skyswimmer's body as observed in the clouds post-Bysian storm. The purpose of those streaks is still uncertain.
Dissection of the animal bore some results. Though the interior biological mechanisms are still a mystery, some understanding was achieved. Curiously enough, the results yielded two primary findings: no air bladder (similar to fish) or otherwise was found. How such massive animals stay aloft is still a mystery. Secondly, skyswimmers have no internal skeleton. The creatures are almost entirely muscle and organs.

Genetics and Reproduction

Science has yet to even conceive as to how creatures as large as these might reproduce. And for some members of the natural history community, science does not want to.

Ecology and Habitats

Observed behavior of skyswimmers so far only extends to the few sightings recorded in the aftermath of Bysian storms.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The only observed habit of skyswimmers is that of their congregation shortly after Bysian storms. Many natural historians hypothesize that they migrate with the storms, perhaps feeding off of the same energy generated by the storm that suffuses gemstones. The furthest south skyswimmers have been observed is Teimor. Oddly enough, they seem to stray near the Tower. Several natural historians guess that the skyswimmers are possibly native up north near the Chaesian Empire where Bysian storms often find their origin.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The head spines and tentacles are assumed to have something to do with sensory ability. How the skyswimmer can see, hear, smell, or taste is entirely unknown at this point.

Conservation Status

Though there are many undiscovered species of flora and fauna that call the Tower their home, the skyswimmer is no such creature. The skies are its home and rarely, if ever, does it see fit to seek land. Stories of mortalkind slaying such a beast are mere myth. No predator of skyswimmers has been observed.