Physical Characteristics and Anatomy
Landsharks are large
quadrupeds that can burrow through ground at high speeds. They resemble a
massive armadillo with large spikes (called fins) sticking out from the heavily
armored plates that landsharks have naturally.
A landshark's fins are incredibly durable, and as thick as the armor
coating its back. They are named for the large dorsal fin on their back. The
fin usually breaks through the ground before a landshark surfaces, providing
the only warning of an imminent attack. Over time, the fins are filed by the
stone the landshark travels through and become razor-sharp.
The hardest armor on
a landshark's body is the armor shielding its head, and a headbutt from a
landshark is enough to incapacitate most creatures. Their claws are sharper
than their fins, and can as easily rend through stone and metal as they can
flesh and bone. Although their legs are relatively short, they are powerful and
designed to push the beast through stone headfirst. When aboveground (or
surfacing), a landshark can use its powerful hind legs to leap through the air,
although this is a technique they use sparingly.
Landsharks possess a
tremorsense, the ability to detect movement through the vibration of the earth,
and use this while tunneling to pinpoint the location of any prey or predators
around them. They possess a powerful sense of smell and hearing, but their
eyesight is not as good as many creatures, and they rely more on their
tremorsense.
Landsharks have a
powerful stomach that can digest practically anything. They are incredibly
resistant to poisons and bacteria, and anything their stomachs cannot digest is
usually successfully passed through. A particular species of landshark is
capable of vomiting their powerful stomach acids to use as a weapon, and also
as an aide to tunnel through rock and mineral veins. A landshark's bite is
powerful enough to break through most creatures' spines, but if a creature is
wounded by a landshark's bite, then it generally falls ill and dies from the
plethora of bacteria living in each landshark's jaws.
When aboveground,
landsharks are capable of either rolling into a ball and tucking their armored
tail under to cover their belly, or burying themselves in the dirt so that only
their armor plating is exposed. Usually when threatened, a landshark will simply
burrow to safety.
Landsharks can live
for up to 80 years in captivity, and dwarves generally keep them as mounts.
Landsharks are generally about 8 feet long and their tail extends another 4-6
feet, although larger specimens are common. They weigh over a ton, and their
armor plating becomes more dense as they age, resulting in increased weight. Many larger
specimens are over 3 tons in weight and over 15 feet in length.
Behavior and Diet
A landshark's
capacity for food is limitless. They can literally eat every moment of the day,
and generally eat as they move. Landsharks hunt by sensing the vibrations of
their prey. They burst through the ground, kill with a powerful bite, and then
burrow deep into the earth, dragging along their prey and eating as they go.
Landsharks are
generally solitary creatures, but during mating season (which occurs every 5
years), groups of 2-4 females will congregate around powerful bull landsharks
to form a deadly school. The females create a den where they lay clutches of
5-6 eggs each. After the eggs are laid, the bull landshark departs and the
females remain. The females become voraciously territorial, killing everything
within dozens of miles, gorging themselves, and dragging carcasses back for
their unborn children.
The blind hatchlings
feed on their mother's milk for the first month of their lives. During this
time, the mothers stay within the den, feeding on the rotting carcasses.
Children get their first taste of meat from the month-old carcasses littering
the den. The family pod departs the den after eating the last of the carcasses.
It is now that the landsharks are at their most vulnerable. The mothers have
starved themselves for the last 2-3 weeks so that their children can eat, and
the children have yet to develop a shell hard enough to turn aside the fangs
and claws of predators.
One of the
"best" predators are dwarves, seeking to increase their stock of
tamed landsharks, they frequently hunt these pods to steal away hatchlings.
Other predators are merciless and from each family pod, only 2-3 landsharks
will live to adulthood.
