Baifa Monü Zhuan
- Intent: To create Atrisian elephants
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- Name: Matanga
- Designation: Non-Sentient
- Origins: Atrisia
- Average Lifespan: 300 years
- Estimated Population: Planetary
- Description: A massive beast from the ancient jungles of Ukiyo, The Matenga is a colossal herd beast of the ancient southern continent Ukiyo on Atrisia. Standing 30 meters tall and stretching 34 meters in length, it is one of the largest creatures in the forest, a presence not easily trifled with or forgotten. Its body is a wall of grey hide that may lighten or darken with age, while its coarse, short hair remains a stark white. Two enormous eyes dominate the face, all fixed forward. They grant exceptionally detailed vision but leave the beast with a narrow field of view; unable to turn its head, the Matenga cannot see its own sides or rear. A massive trunk and sweeping tusks complete the face. Males carry one trunk and two tusks, while females generally have one trunk and four tusks. The ears tell age young individuals have large, spreading ears, and as they mature the ears draw closer to the head, appearing smaller. Despite their immense bulk, Matenga move with a deceptive softness. Their feet are lightly padded, muffling footfalls that would otherwise announce them from kilometers away. In ancient conflicts, this combination of power and quiet movement made them prized siege transports, capable of carrying entire companies of soldiers to fortress walls. Today the land bridges that once connected Ukiyo to the rest of Atrisia are lost, and with them the age of the domesticated war Matenga. They roam wild, isolated and aloof.
- Breathes: Type I
- Average Height of Adults: 30m
- Average Length of Adults: 34m
- Skin Color:Grey, varying lighter or darker with age
Hair Color: Coarse white, short - Distinctions: The males have one trunk and two tusks while the female generally have four tusks and one trunk. Their ears denot their age as the younger then are the larger the ears with the older ones having them closer to their head and looking smaller.
- Races: N/A
- Force Sensitivity: Non-Sensitive
- Massive: Comparable in size to a First Order All-Terrain Armoured Transport, and often slightly larger. A Matenga can trample almost any ground-based force placed in its path.
- Trumpeting: The trunk can produce an auditory blast reaching 210 decibels, enough to rupture eardrums, disorient troops, and shatter nearby glass.
- Tusks: Their tusks are densely packed on a molecular level, granting them strong resistance to lightsaber strikes and making them extremely valuable.
- Hide: Thick and tough, the hide functions similarly to fireworm scales. It can absorb an initial strike very effectively, but repeated blows to the same area will quickly degrade its protection.
- Size as a Limitation: The sheer mass of even adolescent Matenga makes interstellar transport incredibly difficult. Their movement is largely restricted to their home continent of Ukiyo.
- Poachers: The value of their near-lightsaber-resistant tusks invites constant poaching, decimating their numbers outside the well-defended southern continent.
- Hide Vulnerability: While formidable against a first hit, the hide breaks down under sustained punishment. Once an area is cracked open, the underlying tissue is far more vulnerable.
- Narrow Eyesight: The three forward-facing eyes give detailed but tunnel-like vision. With a head that cannot turn to look behind, the Matenga has enormous blind spots at its sides and rear, leaving it open to flanking attacks.
- Diet:Omnivore, though predominantly herbivorous. In times of scarcity, a Matenga may consume other Matenga or other creatures of Ukiyo. True carnivorous behavior is rare; overconsumption of flesh, like the ingestion of toxic plants, will sicken them.
- Communication: Powerful trumpeting blasts that can carry for great distances.
- Technology level: N/A
- Religion/Beliefs: N/A
- General behavior: Generally regarded as gentle giants, Matenga are not docile but are far from mindlessly aggressive. They warn with deep, resonant sounds from their trunks and heavy stomps. Unless attacked, they will usually swat an irritant aside and refuse to give chase. The one exception is a threat to the herd's young. Calves are kept tightly at the centre of the herd, guarded from the many predators of the southern continent. With most sapient beings, Matenga are left to themselves the southern continent is dangerous enough that few seek them out, and with the ancient land bridges gone, the days of tamed siege Matenga are only a memory.
Ancient and found primarily on the dangerous southern continent. They were once regarded with awe... with reverence as evidence by the statues that have been found. The ancient land bridges that connected and have been shaped by the first civilization allowed them to be moved around so their bones have been discovered. When the land bridges were destroyed and swallowed by the sea some were stranded, when Ukiyo was isolated and became overgrown by the jungle and the darkside. They were secluded, ancient mosaics of them being used to cross the mountains in long forgotten wars. The depiction of a siege in the Nhai mountains between two of the kingdoms. One of the more a dangerous phrases that had been found denoting who would rule and control the planet. "Tsuyoi kata e" Translating from ancient Atrisian roughly as "To the Strong" something that has seen many try and weaponize the beasts of burden... transporting them away when they are first born and much much smaller.
The centuries since the first saw Ukiyo become more and more isolated with random clans trying to lay claim but few ever managed to get far into the interior fo the continent. The dangerous creatures, the flesh and bone eating parasites... bacteria infested waters and cannibalistic darksiders who killed anything that came close to the ruins saw to that. So the Matanga became more of a myth you might be able to see from the shore towering above some of the trees. Therare brave soul who went into it... who sought to steal some away usually found the smallest to steal away and killed the adults harvesting their tusks to sell or trade. When offworlders came to the world and discovered them dozens perished trying to launch a safari into the heart of the jungles and find them to add a trophy to their collection but very few came back. Plagues that went to the people of Atrisia endangered them as sickened flesh from the Taeki poisoned them.
In the more recent centuries and years their population has started to rebound and swell on the continent. Since they can observe them through drones and from orbit rather then having to send teams down into the jungles. The Atrisian biologists have worked to make sure they are regarded as a protected species on the planet. Their tusks being something very valuable to those who have studied them and those who might be able to capture one and hone the tusks into a weapon or piece of armor. The Taeki are one of the only groups on Atrisia who have been able to domesticate them as mounts and creatures that can move through the large mountains of the jungle. When they are younger they can be ridden but as they can getolder they can be used to move and clear trees or carry lodgings for several to be in as they migrate around searching for food.
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