Yian Za-Qua

==Appearance==
Yian Za-Qua has a beige shell with ruby red segments on the upper side of its body and a brown beak. The body is more stout than its ancestor and about the same size, but the wing membranes are smaller and the shell on its back is smoother. Due to the sand that often sticks to its carapace, the red coloration is only visible after it's been in the water. The lower mandible is much larger than the upper side and is formed like a shovel with spiky edges that grow beyond the upper beak. The Bird Wyvern has big, dull claws on its wings. There are few brown feathers all over the torso and a tail with several spikes on the sides that grow transversely downwards. The ears are thicker and shaped like a hollow cone with a pointy tip. Like its relatives it can fold its ears behind its head, but more efficiently so it doesn't get in the way. The eyes have become so small they are hardly visible.
==Habitat and Ecology==
An Adapted Species of Yian Kut-Ku that lives in the desert, namely the Crimson Sands and Desert Oasis. With its shovel-like underside of its beak and dull claws it is able to burrow through sand and soft earth. While doing so it often ingests sand and earth to keep its sac sufficiently filled. While Yian Za-Qua feeds on smaller monsters that live under the sand as well, it also attacks prey of the right size from below when they roam above its hunting ground. The Bird Wyvern usually swallows their prey whole, but if the food can seriously harm its stomach with claws and teeth, the monster prefers to bludgeon them with its hard beak before devouring it. It also feeds on cacti and other plants from time to time
Unlike its ancestor, Yian Za-Qua is unable to fly, so instead it stays underground most of its life, only leaving the soil to drink water. The Bird Wyvern digs its own nest caves deep into soft earth and sand a good distance off the groundwater and surface water bodies, so the caves stay stable. The hunting grounds of the Bird Wyvern are a few kilometer radius away from its nest so no predators find it. There are also no open entrances that lead to its den, the burrow paths only start some meters underground, but due to its homing instinct and orientation through the magnetic field it still finds it without problems. There is an airing system though which it shapes by using its spit to decrease the size and strengthen the edges of the openings. The monster uses its claws to shape them as thin as possible. There are several of those pipes to keep the air flow consistant even if one or two cave in. Yian Za-Qua regularly uses the spikes on its tail as a rake to see how soft the earth around it is. It stays away from hard to dig soil.
As the monster lives most of its life from the reach of the sun, it lost most of its sight and its eyes can only see blurry, being able to differentiate light and dark lighting at most. Instead it has an even better sense of hearing than Yian Kut-Ku capable of picking up small sounds even deep within the earth. Yian Za-Qua is nocturnal and can only rarely be seen outside at day, often due to disturbances. The Bird Wyvern tends to overheat from friction while burrowing so it often seeks out small water bodies or muddy spots to bathe in them and drink something. This kind of occasion leads to the most common encounters with this monster, but due to its more timid nature it usually leaves immediately when it hears noises around it. Only rogue Yian Za-Quas would try to pick a fight when something smaller approaches it. When the Bird Wyvern is upset it may happen that it chokes while drinking hence water entering its Terra Sacs, which evolved from the Yian Kut-Ku's Fire Sacs, and mixing with the earth in there.
There's no real mating season for Yian Za-Qua and individuals rarely meet each other, but it seems at maturity both sexes have the urge to go further from their nest than usually. Due to their impeccable sense of hearing, they can find others even underground. The Bird Wyverns are actually quite social when they meet, but unless they have an interest for partnership with each other, both parties form only loose relations. Yian Za-Quas are monogamous and only have a single partner in their whole life. When the female lays eggs, usually two to three, it stays in the nest and broods until they hatch, while the male searches for food which they store a little distance away from the nest. The chicks stay in the nest for a few months before they start burrowing around the nest, though they don't go too far off. Then the parents lead them outside for their first hunt. When the chicks are experienced enough to hunt on their own, they leave the parents' nest and search for a new spot to build their own nest.
There are rarely problems with Yian Za-Qua partners, most quests either involve territory fights or single individuals. While nests within territories that are inhabited stay uncontested, when two individuals claim the same territory before the nest cave is build, they will fight for the territory. Furthermore, when a Yian Za-Qua stays without partner for a long while they will get more aggressive in search for one and may cause trouble. An individual that loses its partner may also go berserk, but that is relatively rare, as in most cases the remaining partner lives the rest of its life in consternation, never getting a new mate.
===Interactions with other Monsters===
Prey:
Mainly smaller monsters and Endemic Life it can swallow whole.
Predators:
As it is quite low in the food chain a lot of bigger monsters are able to take Yian Za-Qua down, but due to its excellent hearing and timid behavior the Bird Wyvern can avoid a lot of predators by burrowing into the ground.
===Turf Wars===
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==Abilities==
The monster is fast but a bit clumsy leaving many openings while attacking. The beak is a very dangerous weapon both as a bludgeon and second as a tool to throw rocks and sand at an opponent. While the wing claws are quite dull they can still be used for attack due to the more flexible wings as the membranes are greatly reduced. The tail can be used to whip an opponent.
Yian Za-Qua's main mean of attack is its Terra Sac, from which it can spit globs of earth which stay on the ground for a while. Like Yian Kut-Ku it can launch projectiles at opponents, but it prefers to spew them upwards so they fall on the enemy. When it chokes on water the properties of what it spits out will change for a while, instead of globs, it spews muddy water which comes out in gushes. While not inflicting the muddy status effect, ground that gets hit with the water will get soft which makes it harder to move on.
==Attacks==
#Beak slam: The Bird Wyvern lifts its head a bit and slams its beak down.
#Triple beak slam: Similar to the attack before, but the monster does them while moving forward. First slightly to the right, then the same to the left and last right in front of it.
#Beak smash: Yian Za-Qua lifts its head upwards and then smashes its beak down with full force. Causes tremors and other attacks may be chained into it. It takes a short time to recover from the impact.
#Jumping beak smash: Similar to the previous attack but it additionally jumps into the air to increase the force of the impact. Only used in Rage Mode and causes tremors in a wider radius. It takes a short time to recover from the impact.
#Beak swing: The monster puts its head to the side and drags it on the ground while moving it in front of it and lifts it jerkily to send an opponent flying.
#Shovel swings: Yian Za-Qua puts its beak into the ground it swings it up first to one side then the other, sending hit targets flying. In Rage Mode the beak is deeper into the earth and additionally throws small rocks in the direction it moves.
#Rock throw: The Bird Wyvern aligns its sight to a target and strikes its beak into the earth and throws a sizable rock in front of it.
#Earth wave: Yian Za-Qua puts its beak into the ground and charges forward, accumulating more and more sand or earth in front of it. It then releases this wave over an opponent. Inflicts earthblight.
#Dig up: When it burrows underground, it burrows beneath a target and strikes its head up while digging up in an attempt to hit the enemy.
#Dig up beak slam: The dig up attack, but additionally the Bird Wyvern slams its beak into the ground in the direction the target evaded to.
#Dig up beak flail: The dig up attack, but the monster flails its head around while half in the ground still in hopes to hit surrounding opponents with its beak.
#Dig up jump beak smash: Similar to the dig up attack, but instead of digging up with its beak, it uses its wing arms to open come out and then uses them to catapult itself into the air and then do a beak smash attack. Only used in Rage Mode and it takes a short time to recover from the impact.
#Tail swipe: Yian Za-Qua looks to the side and while turning around in the opposite direction it whips its tail to that side. It can either repeat this attack or chain another attack afterwards.
#Rake and dig: The Bird Wyvern looks at its tail and drags it over the ground, tripping opponents standing close-by. If the substance is soft enough it will turn around and dig into it, if not it will drag its tail over it again before going back into its regular stance.
#Wing strike: The monster takes a swing with one of its wings and strikes it at an opponent in front of it.
#Wing swipes: Yian Za-Qua turns its body and uses the rotation to hit an opponent with its wings and then does the same with the other side. Can be chained to a beak attack.
#Earth projectile: It slightly lifts its head and thrusts it forward while it spits a projectile of earth at an opponent. Inflicts earthblight.
#Earth hurl: The Bird Wyvern moves its body more upright and hurls earth projectiles from its mouth in an arc into the air. When it hits the ground it stays there and hardens. Causes earthblight.
#Repetitive earth hurl: It uses the earth hurl attack up to four times and realigns itself before each time to a target. Inflicts earthblight.
#Double earth hurl: Like the earth hurl attack but instead of in front of it it hurls two projectiles 45° to the right and to the left. Causes earthblight.
#Quadruple earth hurl: Like the double earth hurl attack, but Yian Za-Qua chains a second one where it shifts its sight a bit and move backwards. Inflicts earthblight.
#Muddy spew: Only after it choked on water, it will use the different earth hurl attacks but instead spews muddy water that doesn't reach as far. The ground will get moist and inhibits movement slightly. Direct hits cause mudblight.
#Rotating muddy spew: Only after it choked on water, the Bird Wyvern will position its head to the side and spew muddy water while moving it to the other side. Direct hits inflict mudblight.
#Muddy release: After attacking a certain amount of time with muddy water, Yian Za-Qua will cough a bit and release all the muddy water in its Terra Sac and burrows towards another area while eating the earth on the way. With this it returned to its normal earth elemental attacks.
==Notes==
*The weakness is fire, then dragon.
*In Rage Mode its beak becomes reddish and it huffs visibly.
**When Yian Za-Qua drinks water while enraged, there's a chance it chokes on the water, leaving an opening for attacks. After that it is capable of using the mud element instead of just earth, due to water mixing with the dirt in the Terra Sacs.
*When exhausted its tail and wings will droop visibly while idle.
**It will either search for a small monster to swallow, or dig something to eat up from the ground.
*Similar to other digging monsters, loud sounds will stun it and while underground it will surface while stunned, it will then enter Rage Mode. While enraged, this doesn't work.
*When the earth globs hit the ground, they stay for quite a long time hardening after a little while. The hardened earth can be used as ledge, touching them while they are still soft will inflict earthblight though.
*The head can be damaged twice (first ears, then beak), the wings and tail once as well.
==Materials==
Yian Za-Qua Shell, Yian Za-Qua Scale, Yian Za-Qua Ear (when damaged), Yian Za-Qua Beak (when damaged), Yian Za-Qua Webbing (when damaged), Yian Za-Qua Spike (when tail damaged), Terra Sac