Tirichik The tirichik was one of the most feared monsters of the Great Glacier , second only to white dragon s . Description . Tirichik were strange creatures that some described as a cross between a dragon and a centipede , but they had no true relation to either . A tirichik had a long , white - scaled , tube - shaped body about 30 feet ( 9 meters ) in length , with a stumpy tail and a roughly dragon - shaped head . A bony ridge extended the whole length of the monster . It had two open , horn - shaped ear appendages , two pale pink eyes sunk deep in its skull , and two retractable , 20 - foot ( 6 - meter ) tentacles that extended from two holes on the top of its many - toothed jaw . A tirichik had four pairs of stubby legs that ended in broad , saucer - shaped and clawed feet , which gave it good maneuverability over ice and atop snow . Tirichik were completely immune to the hazards of cold , whether natural or magical . Tirichik were more intelligent than common animals but not by much . They could not speak and made no sounds . Combat . Tirichik preferred to ambush their prey , bursting out from under snow or popping up from out of a crevasse in the glacier . They could sense food from as far as 300 feet ( 91 meters ) away with their sensitive tentacles . One could also use its tentacles to probe cave openings or even snowhouses . When attacking , a tirichik would either snap with its sharp teeth or first attempt to impale its food on the sharp ends of its tentacles . It also had the ability to disconnect its skull from the top of its spine extend its neck an additional five feet ( 1 . 5 meters ) to make sudden bite attacks . Ecology . Most tirichik lived in the most desolate areas of Alpuk and Nakvaligach . Tirichik did not make permanent lairs , but they tended to rest attached to the sides of icy crevasse walls . Tirichik were carnivores and loved the taste of human flesh , and legends claimed that they had the appetite to consume entire human villages . They also ate caribou , polar bears , wolves , kupuk , and even young white dragons . Tirichik were asexual creatures that could reproduce by giving birth to live spawn . A middle - aged tirichik would burrow deep into the snow and produce its spawn there , usually between one and four clones . The foot - long offspring would remain below the surface of the snow until they reached adulthood in about a year ' s time . Tirichik could live for about 100 years . A particular species of moss , called ring moss , was poisonous to tirichik and put them into a state of unconsciousness . On the other hand , tirichik were immune to the poisonous waters of Umaylu Lake . Uses . Iulutiun s used tirichik hide to make waterproof boots , which provided excellent traction in the snow . Tirichik meat could be eaten . It was sometimes made into stew , which was chewy but sweet . It was known to be difficult to digest . Tirichik organs were poisonous to human s , however , especially the liver . Four pounds ( two kilograms ) of tirichik meat was equivalent to one caribou hide in typical trade on the Great Glacier . Tirichik was one of the favorite meats of the frost giant s living on the Glacier , and yeti ate their meat as well . History . In the legends of the Ulutiun s , it was an encounter with a tirichik that caused the ancestors of that arctic people to become lost in the Great Glacier . Unable to find their way back to their homes in Sossal , they settled permanently .