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Hear Ye, Hear Ye! It's Hugo, back with another creature lore for all you familiar-seeking adventurers! First the Hermit Spiders, now something tastier! Let us begin! The Jormun Basilisk Starting out as a small creature, the Jormun Basilisk grows in size over a large span of time. Deceivingly intelligent creatures, they have the mind of a child, but the cold hearted cunning of all predators. Paired with a curious venom and a distinct hunting method, these are not your ordinary snakes. Excerpt of Jormun Calhart's diary, the 'discoverer' of this basilisk species: "Eight of Malin's Welcome- 1489 In all my travels, I have never seen such a creature. With the body of a serpent, the head of some twisted dragon and the size of an ungodly kraken limb, these snakes are a deadly foe! My expedition crew and myself encountered them beneath the quiet canopy of the Fiandria forest, when researching the ancient elven stone tucked away in said area. I know not how many there were, for t'was dark, and the fear of being eaten prevented me from gazing too close at the open maws of these beasts, but I would say that my men were eaten by a pair of these...things. We managed to retreat into a hollow formed by the roots of one of the mighty trees. One of the men, who was bitten, was dragged back with us, but he appeared to be in horrendous pain and suffering from illusions. We tied him down and waited out the night, drowned by his screaming. I have taken it upon myself to name these creatures 'Jormun Basilisks'. I might not be an elf, but I will be immortalised in time nonetheless! May my children and children's children remember this. Ninth of Malin's Welome- 1489 The man was fine by this morning. His senses had returned, but he was still skittish. We left without him, as his limbs did not obey his command, and we pressed further into the ruins. There seems to be an odd force coming from beyond the thick wall of vines. My men, what remains of them, all wish to return home. I cannot deny them of this wish, and I promised them that we shall return by the next day. I caught a glimpse of one of the two basilisks. For a while, I had thought its head to be a rock, far off in the distance, but a rock does not have piercing eyes and a snake body attached. We leave by tomorrow. I have no wish to be made snake food, and I ordered my men to keep watch through the night." Anatomy of the Jormun Basilisk A large creature with the head of a dragon-like creature and the body of a snake. It comes in dull, dark colours, ranging from grey to beige, but the head can occasionally contain a bright streak of colours. The creature, when newly hatched, is about the size of two forefingers in length, and the width of a thumb in breadth. A year down the line, and they will have grown to the size of a meter rule, with the width of a well-built arm. Two years later, one is dealing with a snake the size of a python, and it only gets bigger. By five years of age, a Jormun Basilisk is large enough to fill a small bedroom, if coiled, and are sexually ready for reproduction. On the seventh year, the beast's growth slows down. The largest a Jormun Basilisk can get is about the size of a modern day bus (in length; 43 feet long), and this will be on the twentieth to thirtieth year. They live up to seventy years old, and reproduce sparingly (once every ten years). The teeth of the basilisk, of which there are usually one hundred, are mostly solid, except twelve, which are split fairly between top and bottom. These fangs are hollow, are found near the middle-front of the mouth, and contain a toxin that causes gradual muscle failure and the over-activation of the amygdala gland (the glad in the human body responsible for fear). The venom, once in the brain, causes the affected to suffer from bouts of panic, as well as hallucinations (oftentimes associated with their greatest fear). Whilst the venom does not kill the bitten person, they shall experience muscle failure symptoms within the first few seconds, and will be unable to move within a day. The effects wear off by the next day. The Jormun Basilisk is born with all the teeth it needs, as well as venom. Behaviour of the Jormun Basilisk With the intelligence of a child, the basilisks are not stupid. They have the ability to learn just as every human child can, and they can comprehend a basic language.The behaviour of this creature is unique in that they only hunt in pairs of male and female, and reproduce once every ten years, with a grand total of exactly three eggs, each time. There are always males and females in each batch, with the entire batch made up of one sex being impossible. Due to the sparse breeding of these creatures, it is not unusual for basilisks from the same batch to pair up as hunting and mating partners. A jormun basilisk feeds on all creatures that it believes can be eaten; including things bigger than itself. It rips the flesh of the creature due to the fact that, unlike conventional snakes, its jaw cannot unhinge. Any prey larger than its throat has to be torn into bite-sized chunks in order to be eaten. This includes any descendants foolish enough to attempt to tame these gigantic creatures. Red Lines: -The Jormun Basilisk can only be RPed by the Event Team. -The poison is not deadly or inhibiting, at first. It takes a while for the muscles to temporarily shut down, and a person might actually fight against their fear instead of flee from it. Expect anything. -No more than four at a time, please. I don't want these creatures to be used for any random event. The Mara Basilisk Smaller in size, more docile and accepting of the tamer's hand, and packed with a more potent venom, the Mara Basilisk is the little cousin of the mighty Jormun Basilisk. The anatomy of the creature is nearly identical to that of the Jormun Basilisk (obviously, with a smaller size), yet the scales of this particular snake are quite different. Due to being smaller and less imposing, this breed of basilisk has scales that can shift colour to match its surroundings. As with chameleons, there is usually a default colour, but they are capable of shifting at will; albeit within the span of half a minute. As for the size of a Mara Basilisk; they grow as large as a python, but do not suffer from the lethargy that a python does. They are thicker, have a stronger bite, and cannot detach their jaws, just as their bigger cousins, the Jormun Basilisks. The growth and reproduction of the Mara Basilisks is exactly the same as that of the Jormun creatures. As for the poison; the venom is faster acting in terms of reaching the brain, and the muscle paralysis is faster at taking affect. That being said, they only have enough venom to poison two creatures. It is possible to tame these creatures, but some prerequisites must be met beforehand; 1) They are taken into care as eggs, and the master-to-be speaks very often around these eggs. 2) You guessed it; they must be in a male-female pair. If not, they shall only obey the master until the fifth year. After that, it shall leave to find a mate. 3) They are fed often, and not left in a confined space. You won't keep it in any single space for long, and it is likely to follow you wherever you go. Red Lines: -You must RP getting the beast some food at least twice a month. -The poison is strong, but not strong enough to cause heart failure. -No more than six at one time.