Silver Basilisk

The Silver Basilisk (or regulus platinum), sometimes also referred to as a sterling basilisk, is a rare subspecies of basilisk that has been hunted to near-extinction.
==History==
Silver Basilisks were once a dominating species, especially in the region of Toussaint where they were very common around the year 1100. Their extirpation in the duchy, and possibly near-extinction in the world as a whole, came as the result of human activities in two primary ways - hunting for the monsters' silver-colored hides,On Hunting Basilisks: A Compendium and felling of beech wood forests, where the species' main prey (roe deer) dwells.The Last Basilisk of its Kind: A Study in Ecology, by Borhis di Salvaress, refers to it as a "sterling basilisk". Easy to mistake for a different species, but "sterling" is effectively a synonym for "silver".
In the year , the last regulus platinum specimen in Toussaint (known as the Great White Terror) attacked passing merchant caravans, primarily in the northern parts of the duchy. However, due to being the last specimen of the kind depicted on the di Salvaress family crest,Noble Houses of Toussaint: Volume LVII she is vehemently protected by Count Borhis di Salvaress.
== Bestiary entry ==
: You want a fine pair of boots, you say? Bring me the hide of a silver basilisk, and I'll make you boots the whole world will envy.
: - Anatole Vizholy, shoemaker from Beauclair
: Geralt always liked looking at things that don't exist. Be it a vampire with a human heart of the last basilisk of a species that no scholar has classified, discovering something thought not to be there to be discovered caused him great pleasure. That is why he took an interest in a contract which, at first glance, seemed banal, but proved to be very intriguing. It concerned the last basilisk of the nearly-extinct species Regulus Platinum.
:If Geralt kills the silver basilisk:
::Geralt decided to kill the basilisk, the witcher trade not being one that makes room for sentiment.
::He thus eliminated the last of a species which now could definitively classed as extinct.
:If Geralt does not kill the silver basilisk:
:: In the end, Geralt decided not to kill the basilisk, for who in his right mind would raise his sword against a living legend?
== Combat tactics ==
* The silver basilisk is vulnerable to Draconid Oil and the signs Igni and Aard.
* The potion Golden Oriole may also prove useful.
== Associated quest ==
*Mutual of Beauclair's Wild Kingdom
==Trivia==
*While the silver basilisk is called a subspecies of the common basilisk, its scientific name does not reflect this. In taxonomy, a third name would have been added behind regulus platinum in order to mark it as a subspecies. As a third name is lacking, this means that according to the rules of taxonomic naming, the silver basilisk is its own species of basilisk as opposed to being a subspecies.
*Furthermore, the first word in a scientific name is always spelled with a capitol letter, which regulus platinum lacks.
== Gallery ==
Silver-basilisk.jpg
Silver-basilisk-2.jpg
==References==
es:Basilisco plateado
pl:Bazyliszek srebrzysty
pt-br:Basilisco de Prata
ru:Серебристый василиск
uk:Срібний василіск
Category:Blood and Wine bestiary
Category:Draconids