Sandy Plains, Sekumea Desert, Old World
Gusts of wind blow across the open expanses of the desert beneath the light of the full moon, kicking up large clouds of sand, and moving dunes over the dry and barren landscape. The seemingly empty terrain is starkly contrasted by the millions of stars that fill the cloudless, dark-blueish-purple sky, giving the area a magical feeling.
Across the landscape, rocky rises and gaping chasms break up the plains' monotonous appearance, the peaks, and caverns concealing the presence of freshwater. As a lifeline for many different species, these oases attract so many creatures every day, with a huge variety of monsters visiting the areas to quench their thirst, or to feed off the sparse patches of vegetation which surround these pools.
However, even though water is more abundant in this part of Sekumea, competition over these precious resources is fierce. The silent peace of the night is suddenly shattered as an echoing crash resonates throughout the area; this racket is soon followed by the roars and heavy breathing of two Barroths clashing for dominance over a nearby muddy watering hole.
It's not unusual for Barroths to fight one another over ponds, as they desperately need the mud that the liquids create to fend off the sun; however, now that it's the heart of the dry season, these competitions are becoming much more frequent and violent as they try to claim the few remaining permanent water sources, either fed by underground aquifers or maintained by the brute wyverns who constantly deepen the mires by wallowing in them, and pushing out dirt with their spade-like crowns. Many species rely on these armored animals for survival during these hard times, but right now, nothing wants to get close to the combatants.
The Barroths continue charging headfirst into each other, the issuing impact stopping them both in their tracks. Their skulls are very durable and made to withstand heavy blunt force trauma; however, the continuous smashing is beginning to deal damage to them, with blood now oozing from the head of one of the combatants, but it refuses to give up and throws itself at its opponent. The two brute wyverns collide once more, but this time the victor is clear as the injured one collapses.
As the winner towers over its rival, it roars at it while the defeated Barroth gets up and staggers away, unaware that it's being watched. Having witnessed the entire battle, Blade, an old male Seregios, begins following the wounded brute wyvern. Normally he wouldn't bother trailing such a large and dangerous creature, being adapted to hunt smaller species; however, over the years, he's learned that where there are injured creatures, there is food.
Flying above the Barroth, Blade will continue following it until it dies, allowing him to get a meal without any fuss, but unbeknownst to him, he's been spotted by a hunter, and unfortunately for him, there's a bounty on his head. Despite still regularly finding and killing food for himself, for many years now, this Seregios has been letting hunters kill other monsters before coming down, carting the tired victors, and eating the bodies before they can be brought back to hunting settlements where their materials would have been used for a variety of purposes.
Many have tried to slay or capture him, but every time he's managed to escape, moving to the part of his territory which is outside the designated hunting zone where he's safe from the hunters. Although quite a few people have asked that he be classified as a dangerous problem monster so they can continue to pursue him outside of the borders, the guild has yet to see him do anything that could label him as one. After all, he never caused any fatalities and is more of an occasional annoyance rather than a real threat.
Yet despite not being a threat to people, Blade has still found himself on quest boards many times before due to his antics, earning him plenty of scars from the encounters he's had. With him being sighted, it's only a matter of time before a new team of hunters is formed, and he's tracked down once again.
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As the night drags on to the earliest hours of the morning, the Barroth finally collapses, hitting the sandy floor as blood trickles from its nostrils. With the brute wyvern down, Blade glides from the sky and lands not too far away before slowly approaching his meal. Although the animal is in no shape to properly fight back, Blade is still cautious; the Barroth could still deliver a solid kick or a nasty bite if he isn't careful. For the next few minutes, all he does is watch the brute wyvern, waiting for it to stop moving entirely; once this happens, the Seregios carefully approaches the motionless creature.
Getting within striking range, Blade kicks the Barroth before backing away to a safe distance. When the brute wyvern doesn't respond, the Seregios slowly approaches the animal and delivers another hit, but once again nothing happens. Satisfied that the Barroth is dead, the Seregios begins ripping into the brute wyvern's softer underside, his serrated teeth easily slicing through the animal's flesh. Practically burying his entire head into the carcass at one point, Blade makes sure to quickly eat all the most nutritious parts of the corpse before other scavengers show up.
Once he's done eating, Blade moves over to some rocky spires where he's out of sight and begins resting. Even though the carcass has given him a decently large meal, he'll still stick around for scavengers to come by, ambushing them when they're distracted. Just as he expected, it's not long before a flock of Remobras begins circling the carcass and goes to land. Their long necks allow them to dig deep into the corpse, pulling out chunks of meat and swallowing them whole; however, it doesn't take a lot of time before these scavengers are forced to share this meal with other species.
Leaping in and out of the sand as they approach the corpse, a pod of Delexes briefly makes the Remobras scatter as the snake wyverns dodge them. Yanking at strands of meat, the piscine wyverns eat with much less finesse than their flying counterparts, swinging their heads around as they try dislodging chunks of flesh from the comparatively massive body.
Emerging from the dunes, Hermitaurs soon join in as they pick at the flesh between the Barroth's armor, their small pincers thin and precise enough to reach these spots. It's not long before the carcass is overrun with scavengers, each species seemingly finding an area to feed in relative peace, though squabbles still break out regularly enough: the distraction Blade has been waiting for.
Moving out from behind his hiding spot, Blade's eyes lock on a Hermitaur, knowing that as the slowest species there, the carapaceon likely won't be able to escape his attack. As day breaks over the sandy plains, the sun's rays temporarily blind the Seregios and many of the other scavengers, halting their activities. While some of the animals hiss in pain as their eyes adjust to the sudden brightness, they all hear a deafening roar above them.
Blade recognizes this sound and as soon as his vision returns, he abandons the hunt and makes a break for it. Suddenly, tear-shaped pods begin raining down from above, and almost instantly, every animal starts fleeing the area, knowing exactly what's about to happen; however, not all are fast enough and they get caught in a series of explosions; the force of the blasts ripping their bodies apart and sending them flying. As the detonations subside, the Seregios finally turns around and sees one of the largest flying wyverns to ever exist. Gliding down and landing on the scorched Barroth carcass is a massive Bazelgeuse.
Getting off the carcass, the Bazelgeuse starts pulling out large chunks of flesh from within the corpse. As it continues feeding, its body already begins producing more explosive liquid which solidifies upon contact with the air, replenishing the flying wyvern's pods count. Severely outmatched in both size and weaponry, Blade knows that trying to confront the Bazelgeuse would be a horrible idea and gets ready to leave. However, just before he takes flight, the Seregios catches sight of a dead Delex that was blown a fair distance away from the larger flying wyvern.
Seeing an opportunity, Blade carefully moves towards the Delex, making sure to not give away his presence to the Bazelgeuse. Reaching the body, he uses his very flexible and fast-striking legs to reach out and grab it, his zygodactyl feet keeping a firm grip on the animal. This combination of features allows him to be one of the most efficient predators of both small and young animals, though this does mean he has to use his wings when walking, as his legs aren't strong enough to hold him up for extended periods because of their flexibility.
With his meal now secured the Seregios can make his escape; however, just as he's about to take off, the Bazelgeuse looks up from its meal and sees him. Roaring at him, the huge flying wyvern begins advancing towards him, seeing Blade as a challenge for the dead Barroth. Quickly, Blade leaps into the air, his left foot still clamped around the Delex, and quickly flies away. The Bazelgeuse may outmatch him in many things, but when it comes to aerial maneuverability, the Seregios is the more capable of the two. His opponent may be faster than him when actively flapping its wings, but he's much more agile, able to perform sharp turns and acrobatic flips at high speeds without noticeably slowing down.
Lucky for the Seregios, the Bazelgeuse decides to let him go, not wanting to waste energy chasing him down when it's clear that it's made its point. Flying away into the sandy expanses of his territory, Blade starts heading back to his nest where he'll be able to feed in peace and get out of the sun, letting him avoid the heat of the day.
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As the temperatures rise with the sun, Blade is beginning to feel the intense heat on his golden scales, causing him to begin panting in an attempt to cool down, though this provides him with little relief. Luckily for the Seregios, he can now make out his home: a cave carved in the side of a stone spire. Landing on the edge of his home, Blade uses his wing claws to grab onto the rocky surface to stabilize himself, then enters the cool darkness of the cave. Almost immediately, the difference between the temperatures inside and outside is felt, and for the Seregios, this is a much-needed change.
Moving to the back of his cave, Blade pins the Delex down with his talons and begins feeding. Clamping down on the piscine wyvern's neck, he yanks at it, ripping out chunks of meat. Usually, the Seregios would start here to kill his prey by snapping the cervical spine; however, since his meal is already dead, this starting area is more a preference than anything else.
After picking at the piscine wyvern's neck, Blade finally reaches bone and decapitates his meal, which allows him to dig deeper into the torso, and pull out strands of flesh which he quickly swallows. Continuing down to the body, the flying wyvern rips off the fins, then commences pulling away at the corpse, eventually tearing out the intestines which the Seregios quickly gulps down.
Once he has eaten a good chunk of the Delex, Blade picks up what's left and swallows it whole. As the body is sent down to his stomach, the Seregios turns his attention to the head which is just laying on the cave floor. Moving over to it, he begins ripping out the piscine wyvern's eyes and tongue before throwing the rest out of his home; he then proceeds to pick at his toes to dislodge stray strands of flesh, then makes himself comfortable, and falls asleep, intending to sleep the harshest parts of the day away.
While Blade rests in his cave, far below him, the Delex's remains lay on the ground, seemingly destined to gather dust under the baking sun; however, nothing in the desert goes to waste. Crawling down from the rock wall towards the head is a colony of Pincercrabs. For the most part, Pincercrabs spend their lives clinging to walls, feeding on whatever type of vegetation or animal that may be there; however, with this bounty in front of them, they're willing to go down to ground level. As they swarm the head, they pick at the flesh, making sure to move fast to avoid getting caught in the open.
As they continue to feed, the colony is suddenly startled by a roar in the distance. Quickly taking defensive positions, the Pincercrabs clamber up the stone wall, pointing their earth shells outward and preparing themselves to pelt the potential threat with clumps of dirt. Eventually, the source of the noise crests a dune and reveals itself to be a Sand Barioth.
Even though their ancestors were originally designed for living in the frozen tundras and mountains, many of the adaptations the Sand Barioth shares with its relatives to the north translate well for desert life. Wide feet help the pseudo-wyvern move over the unstable sand by more evenly distributing its weight, while its squinted eyes block out the sun's rays, preventing them from being blinded.
Yet without a doubt the most important feature this pseudo-wyvern possesses, is its ability to produce and spit a type of adhesive bile. This sticky substance is used by the females of the species to clump sand together when digging a maternity den, stabilizing the construction in an otherwise unstable dune, and drastically reducing the chances of a cave-in; however, this adaptation has another use, one made for hunting.
As it paces across the sand, the pseudo-wyvern notices a group of Rhenoploses in the distance: a perfect meal for this predator. The Sand Barioth uses the dunes as cover while closing in for the kill, its yellowish orange-colored hide and pseudo hairs camouflaging it against the sand; however, there's a problem: it has nowhere to jump down from.
Unlike its northern relatives, the Sand Barioth doesn't always have the luxury of being able to jump down on prey from high places, something which is needed for it to effectively use its massive fangs; however, this predator has a way of getting around this problem. Spitting a large amount of the bile on the ground, the pseudo-wyvern watches as the temperature difference between the hot surroundings and cooler substance creates a temporary twister, the spinning motion picking up large amounts of dust in the process. Spreading its wings and leaping into the vortex, the animal uses the updrafts to get higher until it's at an optimal height to launch its attack.
This tactic may be effective, but the dust devil isn't exactly inconspicuous. It is both very visible and noisy, so even though the Rhenoploses can't see the twister due to their poor eyesight, they can hear it, and this is enough to cause them to run. Gliding down at its prey, the Sand Barioth aims for one of the animals; however, it's just out of range and misses the herbivore upon landing.
Upon recovering from the landing, the Sand Barioth tries to locate its prey; however, it unintentionally created a large cloud of sand, momentarily obscuring its vision. As the pseudo-wyvern looks around, it eventually realizes that its hunt has failed and walks away, its mind now fixated on finding shelter as the temperature continues to rise with the sun.
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For the following hours, the sun moves across the sky, leaving its position in the east, baking the land beneath it once it reaches its zenith, then finally turning its face to the west as it begins setting. With the temperatures dropping, Blade finally wakes up from his slumber. Walking over to the entrance of his home, the flying wyvern sits there, soaking in the sun's fading light. Blade lazily yawns as he stretches himself, and the sleepiness leaves his eyes. With the sun soon to be gone, he'll be able to go out hunting under the cover of darkness; however, before he can do this, the Seregios must prepare himself.
As Blade gets ready to preen himself, a collection of specialized muscles located throughout his body force some special scales to become erect, allowing him to access the parts beneath them. He's very careful when cleaning, as the blade scales which cover his body are incredibly sharp, capable of dealing deep lacerations to anything they touch, including the Seregios himself.
Once he's done carefully cleaning his wings and feet, Blade starts rubbing himself up against a wall, leaving some blade scales embedded deep into the rock; a clear sign that this is his territory. Fully standing up, the flying wyvern spreads his wings and leaps out of his home as he begins heading off to his primary hunting grounds.
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With the sun now gone and the moon high in the sky, the temperatures are much more reasonable for many of the animals which inhabit these lands. High above the oases and hills of stone, Blade scans the area for potential prey, ready to dive down onto whatever's unlucky enough to be caught in his sights. Soaring around, Blade finally spots something that could be a promising target. Far below him, a Blood Orange Bishaten sits atop the ruins of an ancient building, feeding on one of the many Pyrecones stored within its belly pouch.
Using its dextrose hands and the beak-like protrusions around its mouth, the Blood Orange Bishaten easily rips the pinecone open, lapping up the highly nutritious, yet also flammable liquid within. Although this specific diet is primarily because Pyrecone trees are the most abundant plants here, requiring very few nutrients to survive, the pelagus has another reason for feeding off these tough seed pods. Over multiple generations, these animals have learned that they can mix the liquids with their saliva, thus giving them the ability to breathe fire as long as they continue eating Pyrecones.
This power does make the species more dangerous; however, it can also make some individuals less cautious, and that's exactly why this mammal is a good target for the Seregios. Usually, Blade doesn't take on adult Blood Orange Bishatens, as they're too much of a hassle, but with this one having placed itself in such a disadvantageous position, this is too good of an opportunity to miss.
Diving down with his talons outstretched, Blade crashes into the Blood Orange Bishaten from behind, making the pelagus fall off the ruins, and tumble down onto a game trail. Still airborne, the Seregios turns in one swift motion, and with the help of the special muscles, launches some blade scales into his target, ripping deep into its back and right leg. As the Blood Orange Bishaten uses its tail to get up, Blade throws itself at it, not wanting to give it a chance to recover. Just as he's about to impact the pelagus, his vision is engulfed in a bright light, making him crash to the ground.
Blinded, Blade scrambles to his feet before he feels a searing pain in his left leg. Leaping back, the Seregios's eyes finally refocus, but what he sees isn't much better than having no visibility; standing in front of him is a team of hunters, and once again, he's the monster they're after. Standing up, Blade roars as he rattles his blade scales and snaps his horn forward in a threat display; however, this doesn't faze the hunters as they charge. Flying up, he dives and plows into a gunlancer, his talons scraping across the shield as he hits. His opponent retaliates, shooting at his tail and forcing him to land.
A hammer user smacks him across the face, but this isn't anything the Seregios hasn't taken before. Before the hunter can hit him again, Blade gets up on one leg and kicks the attacker away, then with an elegant spin, he launches his blade scales at an incoming great sword wielder, causing the opponent to be thrown back. Suddenly, a flaming Pyrecone is sent flying at the downed hunter as the Blood Orange Bishaten screams at all of them while attempting to escape the battle. While the gunlancer is distracted by this new problem, Blade comes up from behind and grabs his adversary.
Flying up, he throws the gunlancer at the hammer user, knocking them both down. Turning around, Blade heads for a light bowguner, ready to slam into the hunter as he's pelted with bullets that create small holes in his wings. However, before things can get any worse, a familiar roar causes all the combatants to stop fighting. Bombs begin raining down around them as the Bazelgeuse from earlier returns, thinking that the battle means that there's a carcass to feed on. Immediately every fighter scatters before the pods can erupt into flames. As soon as the flying wyvern crashes into the ground, the area is engulfed in explosions, the tremors from the impact causing the detonations.
The Bazelgeuse roars as it charges at Blade, causing the Seregios to take to the skies and kick the larger animal. This doesn't do much, but it's just enough for the smaller flying wyvern to escape as the party crasher's attention is diverted to the hunters. As the sounds of battle fade away, Blade flies out of the hunting zone and over the desert. Despite his injuries, the Seregios is still capable of flying with relative ease, the bullets not having managed to make large enough holes to hamper his aerial capabilities.
Although the area he's just fled from contains the highest number of prey items in his territory, the Seregios has simply had too many close calls, and with a Bazelgeuse now roaming the area, he knows it would be wise for him to start hunting in different parts of his turf. As the moonlight glints off his golden blade scales, Blade alters his course as he heads off to a different and safer place to find food.