Kyriaki
Dark Phoenix
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on Tephrike
Image Credit: Here.
Canon: N/A
Permissions: N/A
Links: Dominion of Light, Republican Guard, Disciples of the Vader.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Name: Thrakesion Jungle Devil
Designation: Non-sentient
Origins: Tephrike
Average Lifespan: About 60 years.
Estimated Population: Rare
Description: The Thrakesion Jungle Devil is a giant centipede that preys upon large prey and humanoids alike in the jungles of Tephrike. 8 metres long, it reaches a height of 150cm in the middle but it can rear up to up to 3 metres above the ground. Its outer shell is hard but brittle, as it is an exoskeleton. There is some very apparent sexual dimorphism between males and females of the species. Whilst the females are bigger, and sturdier, the males are smaller and faster but shorter lived. Its eyes are well-adjusted to the dark, making it a formidable nocturnal predator.
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Breathes: Type I or II.
Average Height of Adults: Reaches a height of 150cm in the middle but it can rear up to up to 3 metres above the ground.
Average Length of Adults: 8m
Skin color: Greyish
Hair color: N/A
Distinctions: Resembles a giant centipede with leathery appendages along its head that are like a hood for threat display. These appendages radiate heat as a mating ritual, which proves you've got energy to spare and thus indicates you are a good hunter. It has many, many legs, an insectoid head and a scaly, roughly eight metre long body covered by a thick exoskeleton. Horns protrude from its body, and its large teeth can tear through tissue and light armour. They can feel vibrations in the ground through their legs.
Races: N/A
Force Sensitivity: Non-Sensitive
Strengths:
- Very resistant to unpowered weapons and on the top and sides even to blasters and vibroblades except if full on.
- It has a powerful bite, enabling it to viciously tear through flesh and even penetrate light armour to get to the fleshy bits inside. Moreover, it is able to squirt a burning acid from its forehead onto targets. It can use its tail to knock down prey. Using its body mass, it can curl around a victim and crush them, too. The blood of the Thrakesion runs hot - literally. Being hit by its blood is akin to having boiling oil splashed on you.
- Predator. This creature cannot use tools, but it is cunning and an excellent ambusher. Often curls around trees and then hangs down to grab a person and pull them up into the branches and tear them apart. In addition, they are able to burrow beneath the earth and have very good nightvision, enabling them to see further in the dark than is normal. This makes them good nocturnal predators.
- While its outer shell is hard, it is also brittle as it's an exoskeleton. Heavy weapons...or hard impact with a powerful kinetic round can pierce it and go into the soft, gooey insides.
- Because it lives in steamy jungles it is weak against and even afraid of the cold, be it cryoban or elemental ice.
- While smart, it is at the end of the day still an animal and thus incapable of using tools. Moreover, it is a solitary hunter, which means that multiple creatures will not coordinate.
Diet: Carnivor
Communication: Hisses, and chirps, use of their highly sensitive antennae.
Technology level: N/A
Religion/Beliefs: N/A
General behavior: The Thrakesion Jungle Devil is a vicious, cunning predator that stalks its prey in the deep forests of Tephrike. In terms of behaviour the Thrakesion is a solitatory predator rather than the type to hunt in packs. A Thrakesion is a patient creature, employing ambush tactics against their prey. Moreover, there is a strong gender dimorphism, as females tend to be bigger and stronger than males. Thrakesion females lay eggs, wait until they hatch and then leave. The young start out as foot long centipedes, but those that survive grow steadily bigger. Females can lay a large number of eggs, but obviously attrition takes its toll, so many young do not survive for long after hatching.
As mentioned, the Thrakesion is a solitary predator. However, this doesn't mean it will never interact with other of its kind or always be aggressive towards them. Sometimes Devils will tolerate each others' presence because it is in their best interests to do so. For example, they will occasionally share their meals with others of their kind. This tends to happen when they have taken down prey that is unusually large, which means they cannot eat it by themselves. Of course, they could decide to defend their kill and fight the other Devil. But if they do that they risk being injured or even killed. So it is in their best interest to share, even with unrelated Devils. Devils establish and maintain territories that serve as a hunting ground and shelter, but are known to roam. Territory disputes are generally resolved through intimidation. However, tolerance has its limitations, and they don't cooperate in the manner of more social carnivores.
Theoretically, it is possible to train a Thrakesion, but very difficult, even with Force-based empathy and beast control. One gets better results if one raises a hatchling from birth, but even then they never domesticate fully. One would not leave them around Younglings without supervision. Someone who manages to train a Thrakesion will have to be mindful of the fact that it may still try to take swipes at them if it is frustrated, and so one should continue to respect the fact that it is a vicious predator, not a docile pet. Nonetheless, the Republican Guard has had some success training individual Thrakesion to devour their foes. It is a scary execution method.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Tephrike is a war-torn world, but also one abundant with many intriguing forms of flora and fauna. The Thrakesion have been part of Tephrike's ecosystem from the start, making their home in its deep forests, especially in its warmer climes. The first sentient beings to arrive on Tephrike were corsairs, who used its strategic location to serve as a base while they preyed on the hyperlanes. They were soon followed by colonists sponsored by commerce guilds and corporations.
Many of these early settlers were devoured by the Thrakesion. What became known as Synorostad, the first organised settlement on Tephrike, used to be part of their habitat. But nature was driven back by machinery, and the early settlers treated these creatures as a menace. When the Galactic Empire took control of Tephrike, Imperial Stormtroopers who had to go on patrol into the deep forests soon learned to fear these nocturnal predators. Some Imperial special forces, however, made efforts to capture Thrakesion eggs so they could train them to eat their foes. Some more radical rebel groups did likewise. Sometimes these Thrakesion ate their would-be masters, too.
Tephrike's descent into barbarism and madness as a result of the outbreak of the Gulag Virus did not initially affect the Thrakesion much. The war that ensued between riven factions destroyed habitats, but also created new ones as abandoned cities were reclaimed by nature. Thrakesion now once more roam in the ruins of Synorostad. The Vaderites, being misogynistic, fascist scumbags, stigmatise the Thrakesion as an abomination and 'proof that a female empowered is a devouring beast'. Somehow, the Vaderites have yet to accomplish anything other than committing genocide, building useless 'wonder weapons' and godawful infrastructure projects. The Republican Guard has had some success training individual Thrakesion to devour their foes. It is a scary execution method.
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