Cryptid/ Mythological Creature Encyclopedia

Nāga/ Nagi

Animal Class: Reptile

Diet: Carnivorous

The male versions of this very intelligent creatures are called Nāga and the females are called Nagi. The more intelligent ones are capable of speech, but they have an impediment because of their snake tongues. 

They naturally live in the southern and southeastern parts of Asia and they have such a love for their homeland that no Nāga/ Nagi has ever been known to willingly leave the continent.

While they are capable of creating and using weapons like Spears, Swords, and Bows, they prefer to fight using their venom. Many of them have the power to spit their venom, but it is nowhere near as potent and dangerous as the venom of a Basilisk and most hospitals have access to Nāga/ Nagi antivenom.

They mate for life and lay their eggs deep underground or deep in caves. A mated pair will probably have thousands of young throughout their lifespan. When the eggs are laid, the parents will turns guarding the nesting site ( if the nest is in a cave they guard the entire cave) and mercilessly attack anything that gets too close. According to unconfirmed rumors, their venom becomes slightly more potent when they have a clutch of eggs( which can range from 30 to over a hundred eggs) to protect.

When the young are born, they are roughly the same size as a large House Cat. The parents will take care of them and train them for about 3 weeks before abandoning them for around 6 months. This is meant to be a test to see how strong they are as they are unable to produce their own venom until they are about a year old and must use the skills that they learned from their parents to survive. This is a time in which many young die and is the reason that these creatures have so many offspring.

Naturally live from 90 to 120 years, but there are stories that are told of one that lived to be over 800 years old and grew to the size of a medium sized hill and only died because it couldn't find enough food to satisfy its large appetite. 

While they have the ability to breathe underwater, they are unable to breath Saltwater and is is believed that this trait evolved to keep them from leaving their homeland by swimming across oceans.

A trait that many of them used to have was the ability to hypnotize other creatures, but in more recent years this trait was started to become an extremely rare sight. 

Despite being heat loving Reptiles, this creatures seem to have a crippling fear of fire and will avoid attacking humans that are sitting around campfires even if they are starving.

Extra Fun Fact: In some southern and southeastern countries, it was once considered a rite of passage for young boys to be taken deep into the jungle, be injected by a small non lethal amount of Nāga/ Nagi venom, and try to find their way out of the jungle while under the effects of the venom. If they made it out in 48 hours or less, they were considered a man. Even if they failed, they would still receive antivenom.