Kyriaki
Dark Phoenix
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on Tephrike.
Image Credit: Here.
Canon: N/A
Permissions: N/A
Links: Into Darkness, After Darkness, Tephrike, Dominion of Light, Disciples of the Vader, Republican Guard.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Name: Frenzied Blood Pisces of Mykaros
Designation: Non-sentient.
Origins: Tephrike
Average Lifespan: Between ten and twenty years.
Estimated Population: Rare
Description: The Frenzied Blood Pisces of Mykaros are a species of piranhas that dwell in the jungle lakes and rivers of the war-torn planet of Tephrike. The creatures possess scales and a strong, narrow body. Their head is blunt and they have saw-edged bellies and strong jaws with powerful, razor-sharp teeth. They are usually coloured silver, but with red pigment on their patches. As their name implies, the Blood Pisces are known to be highly aggressive. They acquire sustenance through scavenging and feeding on plant material...but also by delightfully eating humans and others who are foolish enough to enter their habitat. They have a strong, scissor-like bite. The Blood Pisces are quite smart and hunt in large groups.
When searching for game to hunt, a shoal will spread out. Once they have found suitable prey, a scout will signal the rest of their brethren. The Blood Pisces have incredible hearing and are able to communicate acoustically. The moment this happens every piranha that has heard the call with converge upon their prey to bite it, then swim away. Rinse, repeat, until everyone has fed. By then the water has run red with blood and is filled with gnawed-off bones.
While aggressive, the Blood Pisces are not mindless. They will back off when their prospective prey is evidently too big and dangerous...though this may be to set a trap. They are attracted by the scent of blood, and possess an incredible sense of smell...which means they are very good trackers. It is to be observed that the Blood Pisces also serve a productive purpose in the wilds. Essentially, they act as a health police by eating sick or injured sick fish, which means they keep illnesses from spreading.
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Breathes: Breathes water
Average Height of Adults: 20cm
Average Length of Adults: 40cm
Skin color: Typically silver with red-pigmented patches.
Hair color: N/A.
Distinctions: The creatures possess a strong, narrow body. Their head is blunt and they have saw-edged bellies and strong jaws with powerful, razor-sharp teeth. They are usually coloured silver, but with red pigment on their patches. They have round scales that cover the entire body. In addition to providing protection they keep fungi and bacteria away and aid in efficient swimming. These round, rigid plates are continuously lost, but regenerate.
Races: N/A.
Force Sensitivity: Non-Sensitive
Strengths:
- Excellent sense of hearing and smell. A mere drop of blood will get the attention of a shoal and they can smell it from large distances. Lateral line is very sensitive to waves and water splashing.
- Predators. The Blood Pisces have a poweful bite and are cooperative with one another. Members of a shoal will warn each other of dangers, inform each other about prey and coordinate their attacks. Multiple shoals may also work together...or simply converge upon the same prey the moment they smell blood. They are smart, relentless predators and good at wearing prey down.
- Individually not that dangerous. The Blood Pisces are smart, but not sentient and still just fish.
- No good against metal.
- Being fish, they cannot go on land.
Diet: Omnivore. Generally regarded as carnivores, but while their reputation as such is well-earned, they are able to subsist on other forms of diet. Of course, big two-legged beings such as humans are quite tasty. However, they may also consume seeds, fish, fruit, small mammals, snakes and such. Young Blood Pisces may eat crustaceans, insects etc.
Communication: The fish are able to make different sounds, which can show that they are afraid or defensive. May grunt, bark or make thudding and drummung sounds, using their swimbladder. They can also communicate with each other via acoustic communication.
Technology level: N/A
Religion/Beliefs: N/A
General behavior: The Blood Pisces are a predatory species whose members hunt in groups. As such as they are highly cooperative as such. They are particularly aggressive when normal food sources are scarce or the water is lower during the dry season. In extreme situations, this can lead to instances of cannibalism. In such a situation Blood Pisces will protect their young ones and eggs by attacking and injuring bigger fish that pass by the nest. When hunting big prey, multiple groups of Blood Pisces may work together, communicating with each other to locate and kill potential game. They have an incredible sense of hearing and smell, which makes them good trackers. However, they also have a social side. These creatures are school fish and swim in groups not just for frenzied attacks on humans, but also for protection against bigger predators. The Blood Pisces are incredibly protective of their young and will bite humans and other sentients that intrude upon their nests to protect them.
The average shoal has a size of twenty, though some can be even larger. One or several Blood Pisces usually exercises leadership over it. Generally one will be bigger and more aggressive than the rest, be the first to feed and command the rest of the group. Uncooperative fish will be brought in line through aggression, chasing and sometimes wounding. This can escalate into killing, but this is a rare occurence. They swim together not just to hunt, but for the purpose of mutual protection.
The waters of Tephrike are home to numerous predators that are bigger and stronger than the Blood Pisces, so they seek safety in numbers and will warn each other of danger. The Pisces on the outer edges of a shoal will warn the rest and try to scare a big predator away. This can result in them being injured, but in doing so they protect the shoal and know that those in the middle part of the group will support them. The creatures can also make what amounts to a barking sound in order to intimidate a predator away. It is the signal that they are ready to fight. It can be quite unnerving when there is a large group. Of course, should a predator not heed the warning or conversely the shoal decide that they have found some nice prey to devour, they will unleash their full fury.
As mentioned, the Blood Pisces will coordinate and communicate during a hunt. First the fish on the outer section of the group attack, then those in the inner part. When encountering potential prey, one Blood Pisces that serves as a scout will take the initiative and bite it to see how it reacts. If it shows no reaction or fails to scare the fish away, the others will attack, bite and tear off the flesh of their target. The water turns red with the blood of prey.
The Blood Pisces are very aggressive, but not stupid. They will not attack prey that is obviously far too big and dangerous for them...but they are very good at tracking and wearing big prey down. They have strong parental instincts and will protect their young. This is particularly apparent when they lay eggs during mating season. They will actively fight other beings that get too close to the nest or the young ones. After the female has laid its eggs, the male will fertilise them and protect them from predators. Once a young fish is old enough it will leave the parental shoal to found its own. Young ones can identify their parents by their smell and vice versa. This also applies to members of a shoal.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Tephrike is home to numerous forms of exotic - and often dangerous - flora and fauna. The deep forests, seas and rivers of this war-torn planet house various interesting creatures. The Frenzied Blood Pisces of Mykaros are one of them. These predatory fish have their habitats in the rivers and jungle lakes of the planet. Rumours abound that while dangerous these creatures were originally quite shy and unlikely to attack people, until a Vaderite scientist decided to use genetic engineering and dubious scientific practices to create a prodigious strain of fish that could be used as a weapon against partisans hiding in swamps and aquatic bases. Unfortunately for him, they were designed a bit too well.
Other sources insist that they are actually just really hungry native critters and evolved naturally on the planet without genetic experiments, as there are reports of creatures very much like them from the days of the colonisation of Tephrike a few centuries before the twilight of the Old Republic. A famous Tephriki explorer claims to have witnessed creatures that resemble the Blood Pisces shred a large nerf carcass within the span of a few seconds.
Regardless of the truth, the Blood Pisces are obstacles for unwary travellers in the lakes and rivers of the planet. However, their teeth have been used by the natives as tools, such as for the purpose of carving wood or sharpening darts. Fishers do not like them because they get in the way. The crash course industrialisation programmes initiated by the Dominion of Light and the Vaderites generated large-scale pollution that deprived the fish of several of their habitats, as coastal rivers and bays suffered from degradation.
The Republican Guard has found ways to make use of these creatures in its ongoing struggle to liberate Tephrike from the tyrannical rule of Sith and Jedi lords. They like to feed particularly hated enemies to them alive: Cut them a few times and throw them into the water so the blood causes the fish to frenzy. It's cathartic to say break the legs of a Vaderite or Dominion war criminal, make a few cuts, toss them into the water and listen to their screams as nature takes its course.
Many of the Republican Guard's backers come from aquatic species such as Mon Calamari, Nautolans and Gungans, so they have developed somewhat effective means of getting by the fish by means of covering themselves with the smell of predators. As a certain Jedi said many centuries ago, there is always a bigger fish. Of course, that method is not fool-proof, and can sometimes backfire.
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