Basilisk

Height: 

Length:  3 - 4 feet

Weight:

Lifespan:

Habitat:  Sunset Islands

Diet:  Carnivorous

Nearest Relation:  Centipedes

Basilisks are large centipede-like insects that average 3-4 feet long and prefer to live under dense vegetation or in the low branches of trees. They have a large pair of eyes at the front of their body, covered in photophores. By flexing these photophores they can create a large flash of light which has the effect of causing severe psychotropic trauma to its prey. Under such duress the victim's whole body tenses and freezes, muscles lock, tendons stretch taught and joints pop out of alignment. This has led to the popular myth that the basilisk can turn its victims to stone with its gaze.

The Basilisk's actual mouth is tiny, however and lacks a developed jaw. It therefore has developed a corrosive chemical that oozes out through its pores and is born aloft on air currents. This chemical rots vegetation and animal flesh alike into a soupy sludge that can be sucked up by the basilisk. It is an agonizingly slow process for a man sized target, taking days or even weeks to fully corrode, while the basilisk drinks up its victim. Because of its tendency to rot the vegetation arund its lair, many people believe the creature can turn verdant land to desert, though this is pure fantasy. The sludge into which everything around the basilisk eventually dissolves is full of nutrients and even helps a new generation of saplings and ferns to spring up in its place.

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