Pisound

## **Introduction**

Prior to the events of the death of the Leviathan and the subsequent most recent Arcus firing, the fish found within the Meridian river were just that, fish. Given the recent and abrupt expansion of magically enhanced radiation within the region the bioforms around it have taken on many forms unlike their previous, to little success. Either by sheer luck or by the chaotic bounds of reality but one of these new species has survived, that being the small and meek Pisound. Spawning from the waters they once called home these loveable creatures haul themselves ashore with new avenues for their development and into the open arms of their new owners.

## **Physiology & Anatomy**

### Life Expectancy

10 years

The Pisound is a stout animal, sporting short stubby legs where the fins of its ancestors once were, giving it a rather mammalian appearance. That said the mighty Pisound is restricted by its means to collect oxygen, capable of reaching sizes comparable to small dogs or modern house cats. This lack of oxygen intake is caused predominantly by the primitive function of gathering air itself within the Pisound, using specialized gills to sift oxygen from the air and the water, to limited success. While the Pisound can breathe just fine in water it finds it particularly difficult to survive outside of it, having to keep its gills moist if it is to keep breathing. Typically this dries out within the hour so a Pisound should be focused on keeping its gills wet outside of water as much as maintaining its other core nutrient requirements.

While the fin on the spine of the Pisound has lost much of its original purpose it still holds many secondary adaptations which have become ever more important with its rise onto land. While it still accomplishes its purpose as a means to stabilize itself in water it also acts as a means for the Pisound to emote. By flexing its sail a Pisound may communicate with both members of its own kind and other animals or humanoids. This is usually only used in either display or threatening ways as a means to ward off likely predators but has been shown to convey a feeling of elation coupled with a wag of the tail. Speaking of the tail, it also holds a host of the same emotive fins but also doubles as a host to store fat in. These fat reserves allow the Pisound to survive in harsh climates such as the frigid rivers of the Northern Ludwagian alps by allowing the animal to subsist off its reserves until it finds prey.

Pisounds are predominantly microbivores, sifting the waterways for small microbes and plant debris. Still, Pisounds will still opportunistically eat both small plantlife and crustaceans and insects which happen to cross their path, making them one of the more adaptable animals across North Ludwag. To accomplish this the Pisound employs the use of both a tooth-like beak and a set of thin almost baleen-like structures on the inside of its mouth to sift and masticate food.

Like most fish, Pisounds lay their young in the midst of water in spawning events. Once every year every pisound will return to a specific point in the Meridian river to pass their genes onto the next generation, the event becoming a hotspot for both event-seeking humanoids and hunters of both human and beast descent. Pisounds begin their lives like a conventional amphibian would, growing up and out of the water as they mature into full blown adults.

## **Psychology**

The best way to describe the Pisound is inherently doglike. They are both incredibly sociable and also surprisingly loyal to their owners, allowing for a sudden domestication by well meaning Gillians and Lizardkin which hail to the river that they originate from. Towards members of their own species they can be considered gentle natured if even playful save for perhaps fighting over the nicest patch of seaweed or a particularly large rock to rest upon. To other animals they are perhaps a little too sociable, often getting far too close to a less than amiable recluse before scampering away at the first sign of aggression. Such is the same with humans and their cousin races, leading to many meeting their end at the sword-tip of an all too keen poacher or to walk aside great adventurers on their conquest forth into the unknown mysteries of the great elven continent. For the Pisound has little beyond its meek talons to defend itself but only its stout little body to scamper away if threatened.