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| The Otala Serpent of K'tumal
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| Otala Serpent: (subclass-feathered) A truly remarkable creature, the Otala serpent looks much more like a dragon or a bird than a serpent, but the locals believe them to be related to the Taquicaotl serpents, which are smaller and do more closely resemble snakes. The otala are huge, measuring forty feet from the tip of their beak-like snouts to the end of their lashing tails. Their wingspans are impressive, though they are not expert fliers, tending to use their wings mostly to soar down from the mountainous heights, which they favor, towards the jungle canopy. They can get some lift with their wings, but their muscles are concentrated in their long, sinuous necks, in their powerful legs and thighs, and in their lashing whip-like tail. To hunt, the otala often scan for prey from an elevated position, with their super-keen eyesight. Their eyesight so far surpasses that of other creatures and races that an otala can spy anyone or anything long before they themselves are seen. Many of the feathers on the otala are green as well, allowing them to blend in to the environment with surprising ease for their size. Once the otala spies its prey, it will do one of two things. If the prey is within striking distance, the otala leaps with its powerful legs, and reaches out with its long neck, snapping the prey up in its jaws. If the prey is out of reach, the otala leaps from an elevated position, and uses its wings to create a controlled fall, snapping the prey up as it zooms towards the target’s position. The otala’s wings keep it from completely crashing, and its large, bird-like claws can often grasp large tree limbs before ever impacting the ground. For all of its ungainly size, it is an effective and deadly hunter. The otala is almost entirely covered in feathers, some of the most beautiful and most prestigious in the archipelago. The otala’s feathers are most coveted by kings and rulers and the highest order of the priesthood on many islands, not just the naktul. The otala’s snout is beak-shaped, and filled with hundreds of small, but razor-sharp teeth. The otala looses teeth throughout its life, but also grows new teeth constantly. It is not uncommon for an otala’s jaw to hold more than one row of teeth, or several partial rows of teeth. Its legs are scaled with a rough, horny skin, much like the legs of birds, and end in a four-toed claw (three facing forward, one facing back). Much of the otala’s great weight is forward on its body, balanced by the long tail, and the otala finds comfortable balance in standing upright on its powerful legs. Otala have two stomachs, the first being smaller and used to pre-digest their food, since they tend to swallow their food whole, bones and all. The otala swallows gravel or rocks into its first stomach, which helps break up the food when it eats. After the food is properly pulverized and mixed with digestive acids, it goes into the secondary stomach that allows the absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream. Otala lay eggs, and the parents are very protective of their nests. They build their nests out of leaves and ferns and other jungle foliage up on high mountain ledges. Otala mate for life, and are solitary by nature, often living on their mountain aeries away from all other creatures or races. Female otala tend to more green and gray feather hues, allowing them to blend into their nests most closely, and the males have more brightly plumed throats, chests, and wing tips, to help them attract mates. An otala pair will mate and lay a single egg once every ten years or so. Life is hard for an otala fledgling, as the young are inexperienced, chased from the nest and totally abandoned by their parents when they reach six months of age. The otala themselves are not very long lived, as dracona go, having a lifespan of approximately ninety years. Full-grown otala are fearsome opponents in battle. Their snake-like necks strike out with deadly accuracy, and their wings can batter many a smaller foe. A surprising weapon the otala wield is their voice. The otala can warble and cry out as any reptile/bird/dragon, but when threatened, they will use a particular frequency, which tends to penetrate the mental defenses of the humanoid races. The degree the voice affects a person depends on that person’s mental skills, but possible results are anything from confusion, to paralyzing fear, to complete loss of balance, with a person collapsing to the ground stunned. Having an otala aim its voice at a person is akin to having a brain shock. Otala can use their voices on animal prey, but because the brains of animals are not as evolved as those of naktul and other intelligent races, the voice weapon tends to have a much lesser effect, if any at all. |
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