Eit'ri N'okai

Basic Information

Anatomy

This creature grows to 50 feet long and 2.5 feet wide. If their prey was less scarce and their habitat was larger, they could certainly grow to be absolutely monstrous. Larger, even, than the Colossal Dragons.

Genetics and Reproduction

Every 50 years or so, the females of the species will lay 3 eggs within a cave or shallow den in the earth. Then they will leave the eggs to hibernate for 25 years. While the female is hibernating, a male Eit'ri will fertilize all of the eggs it can find before going into hibernation. The eggs will gestate for 2 years before hatching. The eggs will hatch on the hottest day of the second year. Generally, the first Eit'ri will eat at least one of its siblings before leaving the relative safety of the hatching place.

Ecology and Habitats

The optimal habitat for these creatures is a dense forest with soft soil in which to bury itself during hibernation. It is best for the forest to be hundreds of acres large so the parents and offspring's paths do not cross during the hunt.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The Eit'ri eats small or medium-sized mammals and birds when it is young before it has developed its gaseous secretion. 20-foot long Eit'ri's can, and will, eat a human, though humans rarely wander through their forests. It prefers mammals to other cold-blooded creatures, but during a hard season, it will contentedly eat other members of its species, dragons, or whatever creatures happen to wander too close.

Biological Cycle

The Eit'ri relies on its sense of smell, touch, and hearing until it has reached 10 feet in length when it begins to secrete the hallucinogenic gas. At this point, the amount of gas an Eit'ri can create is relative to its body size. The cloud is most potent at the head of the serpent, and least potent 10 feet in either direction. A fifty-foot Eit'ri's gaseous cloud can spread up to fifty feet in all directions.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

The venom stored in the gums of this creature, before it is secreted, has many useful properties including easing pain and lowering fever. However, it can also be turned to gaseous form and inhaled as a drug.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The Eit'ri N'okai has no eyes, but it makes up for this with its other senses, especially with its venom, which has a hallucinogenic quality that causes its prey to walk to their deaths. When a being is affected by the venom, the Eit'ri can pinpoint its location by using the senses of the prey as it moves through the environment. (Note: it is a silent observer, it cannot control the physical body of the affected prey)

Origin/Ancestry

Giant Serpent

Lifespan

100 years

Conservation Status

There is not a lot known about this species by most of the citizens. However, these creatures live very long lives and do not breed often, so there are fewer than 25 of them on the continent at any time.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Mostly brown with splotches of green and black to camouflage it in its native environment.