Overview

Name: Sarkin

Fauna Type: Beast

Mod Status: Self

Height: 7 - 8 Feet

Length: 10 - 12 Feet (Nose to Tail)

Weight: 1,000 - 1,500 lbs

Native to: Vanwilds

Locations: Found only in the Vanwilds along any of the four main waterways in Rynmere: the Rivers Avari, Zor, and Kyo, and Lake Krome.

Created By: Kingdom

Appearance:

Särkïn stand a foot higher at the shoulder than a large draft horse, but carry a lot less weight on their bones. They are long in limb, boasting refined muscles that add to their overall elegance and grace. Their tails are as long as their bodies and flat like a fish. They are covered in blue scales and their neck, back, and the tail is fringed by a thick mane of aqua colored water-resistant hair. Särkïn have webbed feet, decorated with a dark blue claw on each toe. They have been known to use their webbed feet for swimming, climbing, and fighting. Males have two short, robust horns on the top of their head, and long tufts of hair that grow under their chins like a billygoat; the longer the hair, the older the Särkïn. Females have hard bumps on their heads where they might have once had horn but evolved differently to their male counterparts, and unlike the males, they have no chin hair.

Särkïn’s ears are located in the crease of their jaw and appear as nothing more than a single black hole on either side of their face that they can close while diving underwater. Their necks are long and allow them to turn their heads much like a bird, able to reach back and scratch between their shoulders if they so choose. Underwater their scales and hair allow them to blend well with the natural colors of nature, making them almost invisible to the eye if well hidden in the weeds or glassy waterways that get a lot of sun. Perhaps one of the most interesting features about the Särkïn are their eyes, small and sinister, they are capable of glowing in the dark, even underwater. Their front teeth are small and sharp, and their back teeth are square and blunt.

Habitat:

Found only in the Vanwilds (the forest in Burhan), and along any of the four main waterways in Rynmere, the Rivers Avari, Zor, and Kyo, and Lake Krome, the Särkïn are solitary hunters that come together only to breed, and therefore guard their territory ferociously. Särkïn prefers to dwell in fresh water, but have been known to take to the sea when their natural food sources is low, or they are sick, disoriented, or drying. They spend most of the daylight hours in water and tend only to venture out at night to sleep, either in a cosy spot on the forest floor, or in a tree that is easy to climb and strong enough to support their weight. Särkïn do not like the cold and congregate in Lake Krome and the River Kyo during the seasons of Zi'da and Cylus, which are also known as their breeding seasons. They prefer shallow bodies of water no deeper than ten meters for hunting in but are able to dive down to depths of up to one hundred and fifty meters without trouble.

Lifespan and Development:

Särkïn breed during the latest part of the cold cycle to the midway through the rebirth cycle. They give birth to up to three live young early in Ymiden, about the size of a very small calf, and spend Saun and Vhalar learning how to survive by mimicking their mother’s hunting tactics and survival skills. Särkïn grow very quickly but are not considered to be of a mating age until their fifth summer. They put on about a kilo of weight a day in their first two seasons, and grow at least four feet in height during that time. Särkïn live up to one hundred and thirty arcs (years), with most dying of old age in or around that sort of timeframe if food is plentiful.

Diet:

Särkïn are omnivores, meaning they enjoy a diet of both plants and meat. They spend most of the day underwater hunting for fish and feeding on water weed. When a Särkïn is sick, they will go out to sea and eat a strict diet of kelp. If there is not a lot of food to go around, Särkïn have been known to hunt land animals and will go for whatever is easiest and closest to track down. It is not rare to find some of your stock missing if you live near any of Rynmere’s main waterways, especially if you farm pigs, cows, or sheep. It is unlike Särkïn to attack horses or people, but this is not unheard of.

Temperament:

These dragon-like creatures are loners and dislike sharing their territory with each other, coming together only during the cold seasons to mate and take up Lake Krome as a temporary home until the weather heats up again, allowing them to return to their preferred waterways. With Särkïn the most dominant male will mate with up to fifty females in a season, fighting off challengers, most of which receive wounds they will not survive. When it comes to people, Särkïn tend to be a little flighty and reserved, but if confronted, it will attack, usually pushing a person to the ground and standing on them with their front feet before going for the neck with their sharp teeth.

Abilities:

Best known for their glowing, blue or green eyes, these creatures are apt swimmers and have the ability to jump great distances, often seeming almost as if they could fly. Their nostrils and ears close up while under water, preventing any liquid from entering their bodies, and they have except night vision. Best kept records have noted them jumping as high as eleven meters, and as far as eighteen. Särkïn cannot run as fast as horses, but their ability to jump sets them apart, and they do make excellent mounts for those willing to put the time in and train them.

Särkïn sightings are quite rare as they tend to spend most of their time in the water and can be very difficult to catch given their unique ability to put other animals, including people, to sleep with a non-toxic, light blue mist they breathe out through special holes half way up their nose. Their scales are highly sought after for scale-mail-armor, and their blood, a fluorescent blue in males and green in females, is known for its healing properties. Särkïn bones are jet-black and are often ground down into a fine powder called Närkï that is highly explosive and used in the Endor mines to clear new tunnels. Närkï loses all of its explosive properties in hot or humid climates and only works in extremely cold temperatures when it comes into sudden contact with heat (usually fire, though hot oil works best).