Balicani
From Mizahar Lore
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==Appearance== | ==Appearance== | ||
[[Category:Syliras]] | [[Category:Syliras]] | ||
| + | The Balicani are some of the strangest looking creatures that Mizahar has to offer. They have long sinuous bodies that are muscled and scaled with four legs, slightly reptilian in appearance, and have large strong jaws with wide set eyes characteristic of predators. Their wings are membrane-bound, aiding in faster flight. | ||
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| + | They can grow up to 15 feet in length from head to the tip of the tail, with a 20 foot wingspan and around 350 pounds in weight. Their heads, elongated by their thick, muscular jaws, can grow to around 10 inches long. It takes several years for them to reach this full size, however, which drops normal Balicani parameters to around 6 feet in body length, a 13 foot wingspan and a billed weight of 175 pounds. The body is thick and strong, with hard scales adorning the outer skin. Furrier parts of the body include the belly, face and throat area. | ||
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| + | Balicani horns are almost of no commercial value. Extremely hard and tough to fashion, they are strangely combustible due to the oily recess which it gives out, which is how they sweat. These mildly sharp ornaments can grow to around two feet long, and can also be used to spear prey. | ||
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| + | Triple rows of jagged, serrated teeth line their jaws, with each tooth capable of reaching an inch and a half in length. Much like with a shark, a broken tooth is easily replaceable, for Balicani never stop growing teeth. Due to the nature of their prey, Balicani teeth are constantly renewed and produced. By the time a fully grown individual reaches death, it would have shed around 1000 teeth on average. | ||
Revision as of 18:59, 7 March 2010
| "I didn't know what hit us. One minute we were changing watch and the next minute my brother was dead - half his face missing. I was the lucky one. I only lost my arm." - Kent Vaktru, Syliran Knight |
| Fauna | |
 | |
| Frequency | 1 every 100 miles |
|---|---|
| Threat level | Medium |
| Major features | wings, sharp fangs, venom |
| Abilities | flight, constriction |
| Most common in | Cobalt Mts, Syliras |
The Balicani (pl. Balicani) is a common fauna monster in the Syliras. Balicani were vicious creatures, part snake and part bat with beautiful patterned wings that tend to be nocturnal. They take years to grow to their full length which often exceeds ten feet in length. Triple rows of slanted teeth rend flesh. Balicani are territorial, agreesive and solitary.
History and Overview
Like most creatures, the Balicani were smaller creatures before the Valterrian exploded upon the world. They inhabited the forests and mountains around what is now the Suvan sea, feeding almost exclusively on rodents and smaller birds. They were also much more common in numbers, and tended to congregate in large numbers unlike today.
The sundering of the world saw the Balicani population destroyed almost utterly, with only a handful of specimens surviving. During the harsh years which ensued, the surviving males began to compete for dominance over the much scarcer females, and thus only the largest and most powerful ones were able to produce progeny. These large males eventually bred even larger offspring, thus contributing to the evolution of these creatures from considerably moderate, to very large in size.
Balicani are among the most terrifying creatures to meet in the Syliran region, with these encounters resulting in death or maiming more often than not. Fortunately such meetings are rare, for Balicani are very rarely active during daytime, and people in the countrysides have learned how to avoid them.
They are extremely difficult to kill or even combat at night, and their ability to swoop in and away from danger makes them particularly dangerous for stationary and slow, heavily-armored combatants. They prefer to attack from the air, divebombing their prey with lethally quick lunges and slashes with their talons. They attack using their powerful jaws and sharp serrated teeth, but would also employ the tail and wings for attack purposes.
They are also extremely territorial and solitary, with each having the ability to secrete a very foul liquid from its salivary glands to use for marking. Once this boundary is crossed a Balicani would stop at nothing until the intruder is either driven out or killed.
Appearance
The Balicani are some of the strangest looking creatures that Mizahar has to offer. They have long sinuous bodies that are muscled and scaled with four legs, slightly reptilian in appearance, and have large strong jaws with wide set eyes characteristic of predators. Their wings are membrane-bound, aiding in faster flight.
They can grow up to 15 feet in length from head to the tip of the tail, with a 20 foot wingspan and around 350 pounds in weight. Their heads, elongated by their thick, muscular jaws, can grow to around 10 inches long. It takes several years for them to reach this full size, however, which drops normal Balicani parameters to around 6 feet in body length, a 13 foot wingspan and a billed weight of 175 pounds. The body is thick and strong, with hard scales adorning the outer skin. Furrier parts of the body include the belly, face and throat area.
Balicani horns are almost of no commercial value. Extremely hard and tough to fashion, they are strangely combustible due to the oily recess which it gives out, which is how they sweat. These mildly sharp ornaments can grow to around two feet long, and can also be used to spear prey.
Triple rows of jagged, serrated teeth line their jaws, with each tooth capable of reaching an inch and a half in length. Much like with a shark, a broken tooth is easily replaceable, for Balicani never stop growing teeth. Due to the nature of their prey, Balicani teeth are constantly renewed and produced. By the time a fully grown individual reaches death, it would have shed around 1000 teeth on average.