Designation: Non-sentient(Intelligence level of a dolphin)
Homeworld: Rattatak
Language: ...bird noises.
Average height of adults: 1.2 -1.5meters
Average Wingspan: 2.5-3meters
Skin color: Black
Hair color: Brown and Gold
Breathes: Earth Norm
Strengths:
[+]The Valrain have excellent Eyesight. Like most bird of prey the Valrin have eyes that far surpass the average humans. They can see for miles without any problems and can easily distinguish between different targets at such range.
[+]Along with their superb eyesight the Valrain have fantastic hearing. Due to their fantastic development throughout the ages and Rattataks cold and sunless nights and the Valrains constant need to feed the massive birds developed highly sensitive ears in order to detect and hunt prey at night.
[+]As would be expected from such a large bird of prey the Valrain has both massively sharp claws and a sharp beak. Both are made up of a solid bone like material capable of cutting through flesh and most cloth like armors, though incapable of penetrating through even the most basic of metal alloys.
Weaknesses:
[-]Chief among the Valrain's weaknesses are the weaknesses of all birds. Although it is fast and well muscled the Valrain have weak and hollow bones. This means with a solid strike one could cripple the Valrain in a single blow, while this is difficult to achieve because of their speed and sharp claws it is quite possible for a skilled fighter.
[-]Although they are avid hunters Valrain have one drawback when it comes to finding prey. Unlike most animals these unique birds are completely unable to see through water. Because of the distortions of water and their lack of familiarity with such things Valrain find themselves completely befuddled when prey enters bodies of water, their eyes being unable to pierce even the clearest of lakes. This makes it so more often than not if someone wants to escape these birds, all they have to do is find a puddle deep enough to hold the,.
[-]The greatest weakness that the Valrain have is their constant need to feed. Like a Hummingbird on Earth the Valrain have a constant need to eat food. Their metabolism is such that they require eight to ten meals of meat a day, with each being quite sizable. This constant need for food has kept the Valrain population on Rattatak quite low, with one bird holding dominion over miles and miles of territory unwilling to share in order to keep itself properly fed. It also makes keeping them as pets rather difficult unless one can afford the massive amount of food needed to properly care for the bird.
Distinctions: Valrain are strange creatures. They appear like most birds to be large feathered creatures. A large portion of the creatures are born with heads of sparkling gold feathers, this makes it so many people call them “royal birds”, though Rattatak has no actual royalty to speak of. Apart from their size which is quite large compared to other avian creatures on Rattatak the thing that sets the Valrain apart is their “ears”. These ears resemble that of a modern day bat and have much the same function, the exception is of course that along with ultrasonic ears the Valrain also has fantastic eyesight.
These distinguishing features were bred into the Valrain through simple Evolution. Rattatak is a harsh desert world and due to its size the Valrain requires constant feeding. To facilitate this in the wild the Valrain developed both fantastic ears and eyes, the eyes serving as its primary of detecting prey during the day, and its ears serving that function during the night.
Average Lifespan: 15-20 Years
Races: None
Diet: Carnivorous, Gizka, Bantha meat, pretty much anything they can find.
Communication: The Valrain when tamed usually communicate through the use of hand signals and common verbal expressions(Attack, Return, Etc...). However this communication can be further augmented by the use of the Force. A skilled trainer is able to “link” through the force with the bird quite easily, making commands and the like much easier and even second nature. This does not make the Valrain more intelligent, but simply allows it to understand given commands in a much simpler manner. For instance instead of the trainer waving a hand of giving a verbal cue he or she simply sends out a mental thought and the bird complies almost instantaneously.
Culture: Its a bird.
Technology level: Seriously guys, bird.
General behavior And Description: The Valrain act like most carnivorous birds, they hunt, kill, and eat. The exception of course is when a Valrain becomes domesticated. There is no recorded instance of a Valrain being taken from the wild, and then being tamed. The only way to bring these powerful creatures to heel is through the taking of one of their eggs. Once the egg is taken it is then cared for and hatched, when the Valrain hatches is becomes “imprinted” upon the first person it see's.
The person it imprints upon then becomes the central focus of the Valrains life. It will never attempt to flee from them, never harm them, and most importantly will protect them with its life. It is unknown why this occurs with the large birds, but the natives of Rattatak have used it for their advantage for some time.
When a Valrain is fully grown and fully trained it serves many functions. If a bird is clever enough it can serve as a scout, thief, messenger, and a hundred other tasks, including aiding its trainer in combat. Outside of these “work” functions the Valrain also makes an interesting household pet. The Bird if trained well enough will live with its imprinted trainer for its entire life span, needing only a small nest to survive. A Valrains attitude towards other people is naturally learned from seeing how its Master interacts with these people, so if a Trainer despises someone it is likely the Valrain will be hostile to them, and possibly even attack them without command.
Obviously keeping one of these massive birds as a pet is rather difficult, the amount of food it requires to sustain itself is equal to that of a large man, not to mention that it will sometimes hunt things at a whim and tends to be rather annoying at times(Constantly chirping and whistling).
History: The History of the Valrain is long, but its made up of birds so i'm really not going to go into most aspects of it.
It is unsure of when the Valrain first appeared on Rattatak, though it is known that the bird first developed in the more arid areas of the planet. The massive Avian creatures would mostly dig themselves into cliffs and hunt at night, roaming the desert for the small animals that would come out in the cool air. It was in this way that the Valrain would be seen by the residence of Rattatak.
The Gladiators and fighters of Rattatak would see the birds swoop down and kill their prey before they had a chance to fight back, leading to the Gladiators naming several forms and weapons after he great birds. Of course the Valrains true history began when the Rattataki first figured out how to use the Valrain and train them as creature of war.
Through long...long trial and error the Rattataki learned to breed, raise, and train Valrain to fit many tasks. Over the centuries the birds and the Rattataki have developed a close relationship, with a high class of Rattataki taking to taming the creature whenever possible to aid in both the gladiatorial pits and normal bouts of war. Eventually the great birds became a symbol of status and power, with specially bred Valrain often becoming symbols of certain fighters in The Cauldron.
The Valrain however were still not a common sight even on Rattatak, they are considered unique oddities, mostly due to the time and money it took to train and properly raise one.
Notable Player-Characters: Well...maybe...i guess if someone RP's a bird.
Intent: To create a species of trainable and powerful birds for myself and @[member="Evelynn"] to utilize as pets and such.
