Tree-Splitters

I hate these things, they hunt bears.

They. Hunt. Bears.

However they are the reason the Copper Mount Militia is so hardened and prepared for outside threats. That doesn't change the fact that if you ever see one be sure to tell the nearest person with the capability to kill it. It's disappointing that they are inedible as their biology is completely alien to our own. I am reluctant to call them animals and think the word monster is more applicable. Did I mention they hunt bears?

History

These things were the first major conflict that the Copper Mount Militia faced when they entered The Copper Mountains. Being a force of armed men and women they manage to drive back several packs of tree-splitters before discovering the MPG Reserve Arsenal. These creatures continued to be a problem as they continually attacked the newly founded Militia, and armed with new weapons and friends in the local Wild Heart population began to fight back. Groups were organized with forgotten era sensors to detect the creatures, and many ambushes were carried out. Soldiers became proficient in the use of the old electromagnetic and ballistic based weapons. Eventually, artillery was developed specifically to combat the threat that fired iron flechettes over large swaths of land. The sound of which my father recalls from his childhood. The attacks slowed, and eventually, it seems the tree-splitters understood to avoid places like Arsenal Basin. However, the attacks always resurge when the Militia expands into new territories, but never to the same numbers as they did in the past. It's clear that serious damage has been done to their population. This has not at all made them any more amicable, and all attempts to domesticate them have failed. They remain to this day one of the most deadly animals an awoken can encounter.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Tree-Splitters are furless, leathery, pink-skinned monstrosities with three limbs, and a long muzzle filled by three rows of tough pointed teeth. Their two front legs consist of two jointed limbs ending in boney protrusions that they sharpen into spikes by scraping them together. The third leg is a single powerful limb ending in a three-toed foot for charging towards other animals. Beneath their skin is a layer of fat to survive the cold, followed by thickly packed muscle and ending with an iron infused skeletal structure. This iron gives their teeth and bone spiked forelimbs their red coloration.

Biological Traits

They don't seem to hold much biodiversity compared to other animals. They always have leathery pink skin, redbones, and completely black eyes. Sometimes their skin becomes a more reddish hue when they are exposed to excessive sunlight, or white if they are starved which many often are. Sometimes their skin will develop black spots.

Genetics and Reproduction

These things lay eggs, which hatch after a 40 day period. They do not nest, females carry the eggs in fleshy pouches on their stomach, leaving the eggs under shrubs and dirt when they go on searches for food for increased mobility.

Growth Rate & Stages

Tree-splitters are up and ready to hunt in a 30 day period after hatching. Until their teeth grow in at the 15 days mark, mothers ingest, digest, then regurgitate the contents of their stomach into the young's mouth. That's the simplest way to explain it without gruesome details. The research teams think this is done to provide more iron to their young as they develop.

Ecology and Habitats

It seems they are adept at surviving in the Copper Range, the cold weather helping to cool off their sweat as they run from morning till dusk. Their name itself coming from the fact that if larger prey is not available they will go after small animals by shredding trees with their front limbs to get at them. It seems they overheat in warmer climates as they can be found laying on the ground panting sometimes when warm summers hit. Which explains why they never expanded through the Classless Badlands.

Dietary Needs and Habits

They have a ferocity beyond other hunters. If left alone with a carcass they will eat it till their stomach distends visible. Specifically, they are pack and persistence hunters. They sprint fairly quickly but not as fast as a cag or bear. However, they sweat and can run for hours. Despite this many animals have found ways to get away from them which is why they haven't killed the entire food chain.

Biological Cycle

Over time, they can be found to slow down as their muscles grow weak and bones start to break down from years of use. After about 8 to 10 years of life they generally die by natural causes, or by an awoken. The species never partake in cannibalism thankfully, but they just leave their dead where they lie with little regard. This information was only learned years after one was captured and kept alive in an attempt to understand them.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

These creatures are driven by ravenous hunger and show little in the way of intelligence or social structure. Their lives entirely consisting of a hunt for food. This makes them exceptionally dangerous as they will attack anything they see as potential food including other predators. Despite this constant hunt, they show very little in the way of tactics or strategies beyond charging. They don't stalk either, simply wandering in a mob. This thankfully makes them easy to spot as their coloration does not work well as camouflage.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The saving grace about them is that these creatures seem to possess little in the way of extrasensory capabilities, with a sense of smell slightly weaker than that of a Cag. Most Averine's can also see and hear better then them as well. They make up for this with sheer ferocity and pack tactics.

"A small survival tip; they are weak to electrokinesis and ontologite effects. " - Grant Scrapman

Origin/Ancestry

Unknown

Lifespan

8 to 10 years

Conservation Status

As stated, kill them on sight, or get someone to. Its kill or be killed when a tree-splitter is involved.

Average Height

2.2 – 2.7 ft.

Average Weight

66 – 180 lbs.

Average Length

3.9 – 6.6 ft.

Geographic Distribution

• The Copper Mountains