Gilamar Skirata
The most important step is always the next one
Images: The Witcher 3, CD Project Red
Name: Hra'nadetr Jair'Galaar
Designation: Non-Sentient
Homeworld: Mandalore
Language: N/A
Average height of adults: 2-4.5 Meters
Skin color: Earthy browns and yellows
Hair color:
- Plumage Colors vary between earthy browns and dull dull reds
- Plumage is White In the North
- Blue Manes for males, brown or no manes for females
- Black plumage and mane in rare genetic mutation
Strengths:
- Talons sharp enough to rip through durasteel
- Iconic Screech that has scaled with its size and can disorient and even possibly damage sensitive ears
- Tough hide to survive in the harshest of Northern winters can take blaster bolts. Hide is a a tad stronger than spacer's leather {4-5}
- Strong, flexible tail
- Wings susceptible to all sorts of damage
- Hollow bone structure makes it easier for blunt force trauma to damage wings, shins, and toes
- No tail=no stable flight. If you somehow cut off its tail its akin to clipping a bird.
- Very Poor Low-light vision
- Long and flexible tail
- Common Avian Raptor features
- Iconic Screech
- Yellow iris
- Downy mane
- Unlike its smaller cousin, the Giant Shriek-Hawk is not nocturnal
Races:
- Northern Variant's plumage stays white nearly all year round
- Desert Variant's plumage is stone gray
Diet:
- Meat
- Carrion
- Chirps, caws, and growls
- Iconic, louder and even more terrifying screech
Technology level: N/A
General behavior: Hra'nadetr Jair'Galaar are incredibly territorial creatures, the males even more so, with large swaths of territory that usually overlaps with one or two female territories often overlapping with a single male's. They are even more territorial of the large nests they inhabit which are often found on the lip of large cliffs and rarely in caves, despite their poor low-light vision. Generally they hunt medium to large sized prey such as Warbr (Mando'a for Deer), Ori'edee, and rarely Taakur Bev'uliik. They also perform the niche role of a scavenger and are more comfortable as bachelors eating their kill where they found or killed it.
Giant-Shriek Hawks spend most of their single days soaring the skies of the great Mandalorian skies. During mating season fights between Males and females are common as they often times circle entire continents, using abandoned forts, caves and even abandoned nests of other Giant Shriek-Hawks as resting places to find a mate, which obviously ends up with them encroaching on other Males' territory and females doing the same. Because they mate for life it is incredibly important to the avian species to find "the one" and when they do they will fight viscous sky battles to claim their mate, with females being even more competitive than males at times, willing to fight a chosen male into submission, though this is most often seen after a female has fought another female over a male and the male refuses to chose the winner. Once a mate is chosen they perform a similar mating ritual to Shriek-Hawks and other raptors where they link talons and free fall until the last moment.
Despite their territorial nature, it has also been rarely observed in older members of the species groups of two or three pairs coming together in a sort of elder community sharing territory with the other mated pairs, insinuating that lasting bonds go beyond just mated partners, but that they have the capacity to form lifelong friendships with other members of their species, though what dictates these relationships is up in the air. Often the largest or "strongest" male is observed to be a sort of leader figure in the group, leading the others in protecting their territory from younger members of the species.
Hra'nadetr Jair'Galaar also only hatch one, rarely two clutches of eggs which is two to three offspring. Bother mother and father take turns "sitting" the eggs. Adolescent Hra'nadetr Jair'Galaar are born around the same size as regular Shriek-Hawks and eat meat from the beginning. Born fully covered in black baby down, this eventually sheds except around their neck which gains color with age, though in rare cases the mane remains black and their adult plumage retain the black color they held at birth. These offspring are born with blue eyes and rarely live to adulthood as the parents more often than not abandon or ignore the mutated offspring.
Other avian behaviors such as preening one another's plumage apply, though they also lick their young, mates, and friends (in the rare instances they have these) in affection as well as for cleaning.
History: Discovered around 200 ABY during the Mandalorian Expedition (Mando Mar'eyce Kitiyir), the Giant Shriek-Hawk was named for what is believed to be its smaller cousin due to the striking similarities in physiology. First contact with these creatures occurred at a site that had been vongformed during the Yuuzhan Vong War. The first specimen attacked the researchers' base of operations in attempt to protect its nest and territory from the intruders. Due to its lack of plumage on most of its torso, it is believed to be a result of vong-induced evolution in order to keep the species from dying out. Indeed, as the expedition continued around the planet they found at least 75% more of these creatures and 25% more signs (such as droppings, plumage claw markings) in areas that had been significantly terraformed during the Vhongese occupation of Mandalore. At a breeding and research facility however a few specimens escaped, spreading the population to many areas of Mandalore.
They became a pest and due to the challenge of killing one due to their thick hides and incredible speeds also became a welcomed challenge to many Mandalorians. The species nearly went extinct in 245 ABY, only 45 years after its initial discovery and with the help of breeding programs and captivity the species bounced back, though not nearly as strongly as the post-escape boom. They continue to be pests in many more rural areas and settlements around Mandalore, though it has also become a popular pet in, ranking #5 in the Galaxy's "Most Wanted Dangerous Pets" around 280 ABY. Now some incredibly courageous few Mandalorians keep the wild beasts as pets and use them as hunting companions to hunt Giant game. Eventually due to the fierceness of the creature, when speaking of a Shriek-Hawk many Mandalorians refer to this beast rather than the smaller variety. It has become a popular mascot throughout the galaxy in secondary-schools and public colleges and holds several nicknames, even in Mando'a such as "The Lover's Bird", referencing its intense search for a mate and lifelong partnership.
Notable Player-Characters: N/A
Intent: To flesh out and give an idea of what a normal Shriek-Hawk looks like while also producing an interesting potential NPC enemy for people desiring to tread the backcountry of Mandalore's forests and mountains
