The Lizards

There is a large variation between the different species of this scaly creature. Among the greatest of those variations is the size: the smallest are just a few nailsbreadth long, and the larger can range up to several peds, even though the most common lizards are about 5-6 nailsbreadth long, harmless, easily scared and tend to lose their tail if something grabs a hold of them. The standard lizard feeds on insects, but the larger ones hunt larger prey like rats, cro’cutas, and even cattle, or anything in between. Most are rather peaceful, but the largest predators are creatures you should keep some distance between.

Some drakes/dragons might have looks related to lizards, but that’s the only similarity.

Appearance. Lizards range in size from 3 nailsbreadth to over 5 peds, but most are about 5 nailsbreadth long. Their limbs are usually well developed, and some rare species can stand up, run or keep watch on their longer hind legs. Burrowing forms often have some degenerated limbs, and legless lizards’ moves seem related to the snakes. In the Lizard species adapted for swimming, the tail is vertically flattened, from side to side. The Lizard's skin is dry, scaly and shed periodically, but unlike that of most snakes, it is shed in patches. Several species can darken or lighten their skin colour in response to light, temperature, or emotional state.

Several lizards are cryptically coloured and thereby avoid general detection. When disturbed, however, lizards have a variety of defensive actions that include threatening with an open mouth, hissing, inflating the body, positioning the body in such a fashion as to appear as large as possible, biting and scratching, and lashing with the tail (if they have one). Most of the smaller species are equipped with spine-like scales that make it more difficult for any predators to swallow them. Some expose brightly coloured scales in an attempt to frighten enemies.

Most small Lizards break their tails if they are confronted with an enemy or roughly handled. Predators and children are usually attracted to a thrashing, dismembered tail, which allows the lizard to escape. A new tail, although not identical to the original, soon grows in place.

Lizards usually prefer a warmer climate, and like to find a place in the sun when relaxing, on the other side, they might place themselves in the shade if it is too hot.

In order to avoid harsh weather conditions, lizards hibernate in temperate regions during the winter, generally seeking refuge beneath the frozen earth. During hot, dry weather, small Lizards crawl into deep crevices or fissures in the ground, where they can best retain body moisture.

Special Abilities. Most special abilities of the lizards might differ between the species, but some are common to most.

Some Lizard’s can, as mentioned above, walk on their hind legs; others can alter their skin colour dependent on light, temperature, or emotion. Most lizards can shed their tail when confronted with an enemy, or “smell” their prey with their tongue.

Territory. Lizards prefer warmer weather, like southern Sarvonia, the southern parts of Yamalquain, Nybelmar, and Aeruillin. Some might be spotted at times further north, as a result of "hitch hiking" with ships carrying lots of fruits in their cargo. The smaller ones can be found at most places where there’s food, the larger ones near water.

Habitat/Behaviour. Some Lizards live in small packs, hunting and living together. Others just live together with other members of their species, but hunt and eat alone as the other Lizards would fight over the prey. Others live in complete solitude.

Most of the smaller Lizards have no real usage for people, or offer no threat to larger creatures, and as they are aware of that, they’ll try to flee at first chance they’ll get, as small, nasty boys like to torture these small beasts. Those who are larger than 15 nailsbreadths might bite if provoked though, but they aren’t usually aggressive unless you got something that smells very, very promising to a Lizard. Those around a ped long might be aggressive if you are close enough, or they are hungry, and many. Those larger than a ped and a half would be best kept some distance away from at all times.

Diet. Lizards feed mostly on insects, smaller animals, snails, and worms, although some lizards eat plants. Even though Lizards have teeth, there is little chewing of food. Many lizards simply seize their prey, bite it until it stops struggling, and then swallow it. Lizards recognize prey either by visual clues or by scent and taste. The Lizards can actually "smell" their prey with their long, forked tongue.

Mating. The majority of Lizards lays eggs, but in some Lizards the eggs hatch inside the body and the Lizard gives birth to live young. Only a minority of Lizards give birth to live young though. Parental care is generally unknown in Lizards, but sometimes the female broods, or cares for the eggs. Sexual maturity may be reached in the first breeding season after birth in small species, or not for several years in larger species. Generally the small forms live short lives of 1 to 5 years, whereas larger forms may live for 10 to 20 years or even longer.

Usages. Lizard meat tastes like chicken, at least certain species, others have an uncomparable taste on their own, which may not be to everyone's liking, but are seen as a speciality among certain tribes or in certain regions. It is common to fry small Lizards (7 nailsbreadths and up) whole in a pan, as they are easy to catch if you got the knack of it, and a lot of patience. The larger ones might be hunted on like other creatures, with spears, bows, traps and nets. To kill those is not an easy job, as the skin is thick and though, with few vulnerable places. Their meat is often juicy, and favoured over the common chickens if it is possible to get. About all recipes with chickens might use larger Lizards instead.

As mentioned above, the skin of the larger Lizards are thick and though, and might be used in belts, boots, or armour straps.

How to Catch. Smaller specied are often attracted to food, usually smelly food. Like heavy spiced meats or rotten fish. They might not eat it, but they’ll come to it. Other useful baits are dead insects or things like that. Place the bait under a decent sized box (long and broad enough that the lizard must stay under the whole of it to get to the bait). The box is placed such as it is supporting its weight on a stick. Tie a long piece of string or rope around the stick, and wait some peds away (preferably 5-8 peds), and when the lizards get under the box, pull the rope. Then the box should fall over the Lizard, trapping it in there. The following problem is to move the box without letting the lizard escape. Some place the box on a piece of a wooden board, large enough that it covers the entire "hole" in the box. When the box has fallen, carry the entire thing on the board, and open a lid on top of the box and try to catch it while it is in there, or when it is trying to get out (advised to use gloves). Others just remove the box and try to catch it with their own speed and agility.

Another tactic is to simply toss a sticky net on them. (Then there is no real need for a box)

As for the larger ones, who live in water: They can be found where their prey is, in the water holes. The large ones who live on ground are also generally found around by these places. The preferred methods for larger species are to throw heavy spears from a distance, or to throw a net with hooks (only if it is alone!) over it and stab it to death. Bows or traps are less effective, but they work better than melee weaponry.

Overview. A short list of all known lizard species can be found below:

CHOMAS, THE
The Chomas is a common, blue-scaled lizard like creature, living around the Cár'cál'cáey Mountains, down to the shores or the Dark Sea of Aegyslam in Aeruillin. It is a bit more intelligent than an ordinary dog, and has in some cases been made a pet by the locals. They are not aggressive, but will defend themselves if provoked. The Chomas don’t hunt larger creatures than a small cat, and the locals think of them as a creature bringin luck.

DRAGONFLY, THE
The Santharian Dragonfly is a creature found throughout Santharia's forests. It is widely debated which class the Dragonfly fits into as it is winged yet it also has many traits of a reptile. It has even been considered an insect by some; however, most will agree that it is indeed a reptilian animal. There are two types of Dragonfly distinguished mainly by color. However, in a closer look it is found that these Dragonflies also inhibit various different behaviors. Body structure of the two Dragonflies is virtually the same and both have similar lifespans between 5 and 7 years.

DRELL, THE (ROCK LIZARD)
Found throughout the continent of Sarvonia, Drells are generally regarded by humans as equivalent to lizards. Though close kin, there are actually several distinctions between them and their reptilian cousins, the most notable difference being the Drells' habitation of underground caverns where they live in small colonies. They are also often referred to as Cave "Drells" or "Rock Lizards", and in ThergerimTaal as "Morlokerons".

EXECHON, THE
The Exechon is an enormous, deadly lizard species which can mainly be found at the desert continent of Aeruillin to the south of Sarvonia. The Exechon usually lives in caves at lands consisting of sand and rock, but it is said that its hunger can sometimes force it to leave its territory and that it can feast on dozens of unaware travellers at once. One thing that you should be taught from youth is to never run into an Exechon alone, as a matter of fact running into an Exechon in a group of ten people is also a bad idea. The Exechon is an especially vicious, dangerous, and all around not friendly lizard. Those rows of razor sharp teeth don't seem to be for show either.

FALSEROCK LIZARD, THE (DRARD'LE)
The Falserock-Lizard is, though only a small animal of up to three handspans size and only found in abundance in some parts of the Ráhaz-Dáth, possibly the most hotly discussed beast of its size. Many of the known animal and especially versified lizard researcher state that it is just a small lizard, despite its wings, whereas the famous researchers Aini Siuu and Lutius Strongleg and with them most common people say that one must be blind to not to see, that it is a miniature dragon. There are arguments for both sides and obviously more research is needed to clarify the true nature of this beast.

Researchers name this little beast Falserock-Lizard, describing their habitat. "Drard‘le" or "Draard‘le" is what most common people in Santharia use when referring to them. This name which might be derived from "Dragon-Lizard", (‚le‘ being a diminutive additive by the Shendar) or chosen because of the funny sounds it makes while attacking. In the Norong'Sorno region the black variety is called "Demon-Lizard" or short "Deliz".

JEGRA LIZARD, THE
The Jegra is a creature renowned by the jungle dwelling tribes of Shar (which include the Krean and Viaquis) for their ferocious hunting techniques and methods of killing. The name of the bipedal terrors is thought to originate from the ancient Lillivear tongue, literally meaning ‘Painful’. It is actually still debated whether the Jegra lizard is in fact a bird, since its body is covered in feathers and its arms bear loose wing-like appendages. The general consensus though, due to the Jegra's lack of a beak and more repitlian body structure, is that the Jegra is a lizard, though a very strange one nonetheless.

Though ferocious, the Jegra are not without their uses. Their crest feathers for example were once used to decorate the huge ceremonial crown of the grand Karoths. At one point they were even banned from public sale within the Earth Empire due to the Karoth’s desired exclusiveness of them).

KRUSWIK HOPPER, THE
Named after their incredible ability to jump almost one ped high, which is concerning their height (roughly twenty nailsbreadths) very high, Kruswik Hoppers are fierce predators and fast runners. These small lizards hunt in massive swarms, tearing apart land animals bit after bit. Always hungry, Hopper swarms prowl the plains they inhabit and have no compunctions about what they eat. They are small, fast and can quickly overcome their fear of strange or unusual creatures that may stumble into they territory. As the name implies, these lizards call the Kruswik Plain in central Santharia their home.

MAKO, THE
The Mako, or "Whiptongue", is one of the smallest and most common of all lizard species in Caelereth. They are about 3-6 nailsbreadth long, covered in light green-scaled skin that darkens faintly under pressure (emotional and touch). They got the nickname “Whiptongue” from the simple fact that they “smell” with their tongue, even more than which is common for a lizard, and that when they “smell” on a hand, the Mako’s rough tongue smacks the skin, it gives a fain “whipping” sound.

QUAERASH, THE ("TUSKDIGGER")
The Quaerash, sometimes also spelled "Kaerash", derives its name from the Styrásh words "quaer" (tusk) and "ashán" (to dig), which - put together - result in the coloquial term of "Tuskdigger" used by the people of the Santharian north. The term "Quaerash" by the way is also used for the plural form. Quaerash are indeed beasts that dig with their tusks in the earth to uncover roots they eat and partly to also expand their underground territories. Adults are truly massive lizards of several peds in size, very docile and social beasts though in general if left alone, living predominantly in the subterranean areas of the Troll Mountains area in today's Enthronian province of Santharia. However, a good deal of these extraordinary animals have been domesticated and are used as draft beasts for Erpheronian and Caltharian noblemen. It shouldn't be left unmentioned though that capitivity makes it difficult to keep the temper of these beasts at bay. One especially needs to make sure that the toxic fumes they blow out of their nostrils are repressed before causing any harm to bystanders.

RANLESH, THE
Ranlesh have a long cylindrical shaped body and in general resemble snakes or lizards. They have no eyes, legs or a mouth and are approximately 0.3 peds in length. They move in a sidewinder fashion. One end is tapered into a point and the other briefly broadens, then narrows into a small squared off end (about 0.1 ped wide). They are jet black in colour and always look wet. Dwarves know the creature as Morsek Avarim ("Morsek Avarim", meaning "Black Life").

RUBIT, THE
The Rubit is a small oontrom-hued amphibian, similar to a newt or lizard. It is best known for its ability to create semiprecious gems called ‘rubites’, rather in the way that a tryster builds up a pearl, within its large, protruding ears. Rubits can be found throughout all of the middle and southern areas of Caelereth. They are not very cold-tolerant. The Rubit lives on damp sandy shores, burrowing into overhangs of beach grass or the faces of low dunes. Sometimes it is also found in swamps, or marsh lake edges, but it seems to prefer salt water habitats.

SAND LIZARD, THE NYBELMARIAN
One of the smallest known lizards, the Nybelmarian Sand Lizard is only about three nailsbreadths in length, and its sand-colored skin lets it fade easily into the desert sands - hence the name. The Sand Lizard occupies the deserts of Nybelmar, mostly in areas near the Kingdom of Orcal. Though it is tiny, it is known as one of the most dangerous lizards, as its poison can paralyze quickly, causing its victim to usually die in the desert. Luckily, there is only a very small number of these lizards in existence.