Kiaris

The Kiaris are feline creatures inhabiting the Kaarad, who somehow managed to live in all its dangerous environments, a feat which lead the descendants of Kor ra Ath to take their name as a family name.
While they aren't, by far, the apex predators of Kaarad, the Kiaris are still some of the most dangerous creatures haunting the wet caves below Täjara. Combined with their poisonous fangs and claws, their agility and quickness, the Kiaris are dangerous enough to be feared even by the people of the surface when some of them are driven by hunger to hunt under the sky. During the mating season, the Kiaris are incredibly agressive and dangerous, with more potent venom. Their cubs are born with little fangs, claws and eyes open and can walk within days, following their parents to learn how to hunt; yet, they are sexually matures only at the age of two. The usual lifespan of a Kiaris is 30 years.
The Kiaris have six eyes, just like their most common prey, the Ralkish, whose work by pairs; the first one is like those of any other feline creature, even if adapted to the low luminosity of Kaarad. The second pair, above those "common eyes" is able to perceive fluctuation in electromagnetic flux, thus allowing the Kiaris to "predict" the behaviour of its prey even before they willingly move a muscle, making them wonderful and lethal predators. The last pair seem to be able to see the flux of magic. How the Kiaris brain manages to associate such different informations in a coherent vision is beyond comprehension for most, and yet it does just it.
It must be noted that the famous Ashtari adventurer, Phineus Eickmann the Explorer, noted the similarities between the Kiaris and Aldash' six eyes, a fact which lead them to the hypothesis of a common ancestor during the Age of Myth (or maybe even before) between the Kiaris of Kaarad and the gigantic cat-centaurs of Idriya.
There is three species of Kiaris inhabiting the Kaarad :
*the Ordukil Kiaris (or Jumping Kiaris), a solitary hunter who haunt the eastern caves of Kaarad. Its fur colour is a deep purple, almost black, without stripes or spots. It is the smallest races of Kiaris, being only the size of a cheetah. However, it is able to jump 5 meters even without running before, 10 meters when he run; combined with its potent venom, he is able to kill alone all its prey, but usually don't hunt a ralkish. The Ordukil Kiaris is deemed too savage to be tamed, and thus left alone by the Kaaradi.
*the Saerka Kiaris (or Friendly Kiaris), the less vicious and savage of the Kiaris alone, with the weakest venom of all the Kiaris species. Yet, the Saerka, which is the only truly tamed "pet" of the Kaaradi, is extremely dangerous and populate almost all the Kaarad, for he is the only Kiaris who live in pack. A usuall pack of Saerka is made of three to six adults and their cubs. An adult Skaedra is just a little smaller than an Indian lion, with a deep blue fur striped of black. The tamed Skaedra are often protected by leather amors in the head and breast for their masters value them a lot.
*The Dura Kiaris (or Great Kiaris) is the rarest of all the species inhabiting the Kaarad : the size of a huge Siberian tiger, its black fur dotted of amethyst, with the most potent venom of all the subspecies of Kiaris, made him the most dangerous of its family. Yet, the Dura Kiaris, who inhabit the caves near Galagrön, is easily tameable by the Kaaradi, and there is today more tamed Dura Kiaris than savages in the Kaarad.
There is some legends about another subspecies of Kiaris who would haunt the rainforest of Abydos, which is said to dwarf even the Dura Kiaris, being closer in size with a big rhinoceros, but it is possibly only rumors.
Category:Bestiary Category:Organisms Category:Animals