Yneslean Fauna, Volume I

>#Yneslean Fauna, Volume I

>##Written by: Beyte Fyr of Tel Sadras, Circa 4E 184 (With the aid of Assistants Nikias & Andraxius)

#Specimen One: The Dendoa

Although the Ynesleaic archipelago is home to many exotic creatures not seen on or heard of in the continent of Tamriel, the oddest species I have encountered in my studies are the elusive Dendrai’ic (“star shells” in Echi, the language of the native Echmer), but I have come to call them Dendoa (“light clams” in Dunmeris). These creatures are quite similar to the prawn that frequent the waters of Skyrim, but are enormous in size (around five feet in height, three feet in width) and have grayish-yellow shells that can withstand strikes from instruments made from ebony and solarite. They have twelve large legs on which they use to crawl along the depths of the Padomaic Ocean and have three eyes on both sides of their head. Dendoa are nocturnal creatures, and during the night their shells glow white beneath the water as if they were fallen stars (hence their Echi name; it is not known why this occurs).

I have been told by Echmeri Exul that live along the coasts that the Dendoa are capable of breathing air despite living the majority of their lives underwater, and make their way to the beaches and crags of the archipelago during the warmer months in order to lay their eggs. While there is no particular location in which they prefer to make their nests, they do seem to be partial to areas devoid of life or signs of immediate civilization, like the storm-ridden wastelands of the Urroal region of Slea. Our only method of discovering Dendoa nests is by coming across the large, hollow husks left behind in them, as the creatures are known to constantly shed layers of their shells off in order to grow them thicker for better protection. Because of this, one may estimate the age of a Dendoa by judging the thickness of their shell.

(As told to me by Exul and members of the Undaunted, Dendoa sheddings can make for perfect campsites when traversing the wilderness. Just be wary of any unfriendly beasts who may or may not have made claim to them).

Despite their large size, Dendoa are quite agile and remain elusive to the sapient races – it is very rare to spot a living one on land. Most information on the species is collected from corpses that happen to wash up on shore (I have yet to study one of these, unfortunately). My assistant Nikias explained to me that when a fresh Dendoa carcass is discovered the meat is immediately stripped from the shell to avoid decomposition. Exul then cleanse the flesh and preserve it in salt barrels, as the extreme rarity of Dendoa meat, its unique taste, and its fabled health benefits (that requires more extensive study) make it an Echmeri delicacy that fetches a high price in Bat Elf bazaars. The meat is especially appreciated and yearned for by the Lactechi subspecies of Echmer, who are said to ‘ruin’ it by smothering it in yak butter once cooked, which has actually resulted in some purveyors refusing to trade their stock of it with them (strange, I know).

As for the carapace left behind, Exul blacksmiths and artisans trained in the method begin to shave off layers of the shell and gift it to their tribal cousins that live on the island of Morubixaba. The Moru-Echmer (as they like to call themselves) are infamous for being the only individuals capable of crafting and sculpting the material, which combined with the strange flora of their homeland creates extremely light and resilient armor and weaponry. These items, of course, fetch a nice price at the market and many forge-masters wish that the Moru would share the secrets of the smithing process, but it is considered too high of an honor in their culture to reveal such traditions so easily.

Perhaps one day I may have the opportunity to study these creatures within their natural habitat, with the right water-breathing spells. I’m sure my father would have great interest in their supposed magical effects as well, if he knew about them (and knowing him, he probably does).

#Specimen Two: The Lahoo Just as the surface of the archipelago has its own unique flora and fauna, the vast subterranean cavern known as the Dweech also boasts its own distinct plants and wildlife. The worm-like, translucent Lahoo (which literally translates into “revolting burrowers” from Echi) are one such species of wildlife, and can only be found underground to the relief of the surface-dwelling Exul. They can grow up to be ten feet in length and travel along the cavern floors and ceilings by strings of ectoplasm secreted from their skin. Nobody knows exactly how ectoplasm (which is commonly associated with Nirn-bound spirits, who leave behind the substance upon being banished from the ream of the living) is created within Lahoo, but it is a favored topic of interest amongst young Echmeri and Yneslean-Tamrielic scholars of the Council of the Thirteenth Note, an organization dedicated to the preservation of wildlife.

Lahoo larvae hang from the ceilings in what is called ‘Lahoo Gardens’, which can consist of ten to twelve thousand Lahoo. They live mainly off of dust particles carrying flesh, feces, and other disgusting matter that drifts through the air within the Dweech, but as they mature they grow to need actual flesh in their diet. The larvae can be very useful for Dweech Echmer, who harvest the ectoplasm for trading purposes or to research its properties. Because of their abundance within the caverns a daring adventurer who can manage to ‘farm ectoplasm’ from a garden and return alive can make quite the profit in any of the urbs belowground as well as the Exul villages on the surface.

Three years out of the Lahoo’s five-year lifespan is spent in its immature state and at the end of the third year the Lahoo goes into an incubational period where it surrounds itself in its own ectoplasmic spit. Over the course of the next several months this ectoplasm grows and the Lahoo within it begins to evolve. It is in the last month, the fifth, that the fully adult Lahoo Alpha hatches. Lahoo Alphas are incredibly strong and monstrous beings; whereas the larvae are small creatures about the length of the average male human’s finger, the alphas are on average eight feet in length and four feet in diameter. It no longer secretes ectoplasm, but a sweat-like fluid that allows it to move with an unnatural speed and can move up to five miles per hour for as long as twenty hours a day without pause. This ‘sweat’ is also harmful to all known races due to a high toxicity, and has an extremely foul aroma. Dweech travelers often try to destroy Lahoo cocoons before they hatch whenever they stumble across them.

Lahoo Alphas are carnivores that hunt mostly solitarily or with mates (see the annotation below). Their prey consists of a number of species in the Dweech, mostly insects. They can be fiercely competitive with other predators and are very territorial. Their defense mechanisms consist of their poisonous sweat as a primary defense, as well as the three-foot-long duo pincers in their jaws (which are as strong as steel, like their multitude of smaller ‘teeth’) that they use to cleave and puncture enemies with. The Alpha will raise itself almost like a snake before slamming the pincers down on an unfortunate victim in an effort to both kill and immediately feast upon them.

Lahoo Alphas rarely eat Echmer wanderers (who have been taught how to dispatch them formally and correctly), but foreigners foolish enough to ignore the rules dictating Dweech travel may be tested by an Alpha’s enormous appetite. If nothing else the Lahoo Alpha is quick to attack anyone who comes into close proximity with its mate or its garden, so be sure to keep your distance.

Annotation: As soon as the Lahoo Alpha hatches its agenda is to find a mate, which is done through the use of constant echolocation from the moment it hatches to the time it dies. When a potential mate whose echolocating tones come into harmony with its tones is discovered the two will bond for the rest of their natural lives. Because the worms lack genitalia they uniquely mate through a method of tonal intercourse that does not require the Lahoo to physically interact with one another. These tonal signals begin the process of creating eggs within the Alpha for the next six to eight months until the Lahoo explodes, sending thousands of developed eggs airborne. The eggs will attach themselves anywhere and to anything (I have witnessed unlucky individuals who found themselves bonded with Lahoo eggs; the end results were unpleasant), and surrounding larvae will instinctively spit an ectoplasmic web to connect the eggs to a garden. Lahoo Alphas who have not yet lain eggs typically hunt near the gardens, recognizing and protecting the larvae. Their hunting routines form a protective ring around the gardens, which wards off many natural predators.