River Drake

The river drake is a massive, reptilian creature that weighs over a couple of tons once it has reached full maturity. Its skull superficially resembles a varanid lizard’s, with large scarlet eyes positioned on either side of its face. The drake’s snout projects forward and features two prominent nostrils that endow the beast with an extremely keen sense of smell. Its senses are further augmented by a forked tongue that enables it to pick up minute vibrations that travel through water.

A quadruped, the beast’s low-slung body is propelled by four thick, powerful legs that lift its body clear off the ground. Although at first glance, it might seem to be a lumbering beast, the drake can accelerate quickly when necessary, allowing it to match a horse at full gallop over short distances. However, it possesses poor stamina on land and tires quickly.

As indicated by its name, the drake prefers to spend most of its time immersed in large bodies of water such as rivers and lakes. Its adaption to a mostly aquatic lifestyle can be seen from its tail, a robust appendage that terminates in a paddle-shaped bony projection. The Drake’s tail allows the creature to propel itself effortlessly through the water whenever it descends to the depths to graze on submerged aquatic vegetation that grows on riverbeds as well as dine on small invertebrates such as mollusks and crustaceans.

Given its large size, the drake has to move constantly in search of adequate food to sustain its massive appetite and can cover vast distances during its daily feeding routine. Its lungs, like the rest of its body, are enormous, and allow the beast to remain submerged for at least two hours before it needs to resurface once more to breathe again. The river drake usually leaves its watery haven at nightfall since prolonged exposure to the sun’s rays can hurt its sensitive eyes which are adapted for the murky water of its environment.

During the mating season, the males of the species will roam riverways in search of females that will be receptive to his advances, relying on his sense of smell. Females that are ready to procreate will secrete a strong pungent, yeasty odor that is strongly reminiscent of beer that has gone bad. Upon encountering a potentially welcoming female, the male will wait for her to signal her willingness to mate by dipping her head. With this formality over, both drakes leave the water to copulate on the river bank. When the quick act is over, the female proceeds to excavate a large mound that will serve as a nest.

Burying herself inside the moist mud, she can shield herself from the sun’s heat while she lies there. After popping out a single large egg that is about the size of an adult human’s head, the female will remain in the nest for a week to guard the egg from potential predators until it hatches. Throughout this period, the male will emerge from the river or lake to bring offerings of food to sustain his mate during his nocturnal trips to the riverbank. The sex of the young drake is determined by the ambient temperature with warmer weather resulting in the birth of female offspring.

When the young drake finally emerges into existence, it accompanies its mother back into the water and remains with her for a couple of years, observing her as she forages for food and learning important survival skills in the process. Once it has grown big enough to fend off most predators, the drake leaves its mother to live a largely solitary existence. Drakes reach sexual maturity once they are about 15 years old or so and can live as long as seven or eight decades.

Perhaps the most striking features of the river drake are the enormous curved tusks that are immediately visible once it opens its mouth. The males possess tusks that measure no less than five feet long while females possess relatively smaller ones. While fearsome to look upon, the drake’s tusks are intended to help it dig up riverbeds in search of the crayfish and large water snails that form an important part of its diet.

Another eye-catching physical characteristic of the drake is the row of barbed keratin spikes that grow along its back and tail in a single uninterrupted ridge. These spikes deter all but the most determined predators. When seen in combination with its eyes that give off an unsettling glow in the moonlight, the drake presents a rather terrifying appearance to observers who are unaware of the beast’s pacific nature.

The drake plays an important role in fertilizing river beds with its waste, thereby ensuring the plentiful growth of important water plants that the entire ecosystem relies on. It also performs a vital function in controlling the population of crayfish that if left unchecked, will uproot entire swathes of the riverbed, killing off the vegetation. For this reason, certain native tribes regard it as a symbol of fertility and expectant mothers will wear amulets featuring carvings of river drake to ensure a safe delivery. Stumbling across a dead or dying drake is often seen as an omen of disaster.

Unaccustomed to being hunted, drakes will ignore humans near them. Since these creatures occupy an important role in the indigenous culture, passing adventurers who decide to prove their mettle by slaying a drake can expect to incur the wrath of the locals. Moreover, the drake also possesses a tough, bony hide that can deflect most bladed weapons while it is more than capable of pulverizing a foolish human with a deadly tail strike. As a last resort, the drake may dismember a human attacker with its humongous tusks.