Hiraeth Creature #1162 - Varkodira“Northern Hiraeth is home to a great, all-consuming spectre&

Hiraeth Creature #1162 - Varkodira“Northern Hiraeth is home to a great, all-consuming spectre— an insatiably hungry giant with a maw as large as a kingdom. This howling giant is the ever-present storm over the pale fields of frost that guard the City of Myth, home of Hiraeth’s most ancient and mighty spirits. Any beast that would call this place home must match it in temper and resilience. Indulging in the hardship of these icy dunes is the Varkodira, who traverse the snow with the ease of a fish through a pond. Their horned, armoured heads shield them as well as act as a deadly battering weapon, and from behind, their lashing tails can strike and grab victims or act as sling, launching ice at foes from afar. Varkodira indulge in duels with one another regularly, making a habit of it to keep active and stave off the cold, as well as to practice for when a hunt is on. Varkodira seem to work on a strange honour system, inhabiting the same territory and honing in together on quarry who stumble into their bleak pastures, but only the one who lands the final strike gets to feed, while the others go off gnaw on minerals in the Undercroft. Varkodira have an iron gut, chomping down clothes, armour, weapons, and even steam beasts made entirely from metal. What they can’t stand, though, are fragrant herbs. A clump of pungent flora tied around a torch or burned as an incense will repulse the beasts and halt their hunt. The way the Varkodira guard by happenstance is the path many pilgrims try to take to reach the City of Myth, so those looking to make the trek would be wise to over-prepare. The Varkodira are capable of aquatic life as well, some living out in the north’s Silver Sea to compete with sea monsters. Those with a penchant for terrestrial life are only allowed to travel to areas drenched in snowfall– they make the most out of this during the north’s harsh winters, when they have free rein over the entirety of the frozen domain. Despite this venture being an annual cycle they’ve followed for years, some Varkodira become too comfortable outside their home and get stranded come spring time. The normally vicious beast, unable to move freely, needs to slowly squirm and slither back to the deep north, becoming a spectacle for other creatures to gawk at.” -- source link

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