Dust Ray

## **Biology**

Dust Rays, also known as Dust Devils or "Dusties" are small, flat, quadrapedal creatures. They have a wing like membrane connected to the sides of their head, which extends outwards and continues down the length of their body down to their long whip-like tails. These wings do not allow true flight, but they're able to catch strong wings much like a kite at which point they're able to glide through the air with ease. A Dust Ray's body is completely hairless. Their skin is more akin to that of a gecko. Soft and smooth, with small bumps along the surface.

While a dust ray does heavily resemble its aquatic counterpart, hence the name, they do have several differences. Unlike a manta ray, a Dust Ray has a very distinct head and body. The head had a short muzzle, akin to that of a cat, just without any whiskers. Their legs appear shorter than the average creature of its size, but that's mainly because most of the leg anatomy remains tucked up inside the body cavity, only extending when landing.

## **Personality/Instincts**

A Dust Ray is, to put it bluntly, useless when grounded. But, they're only able to fly if the weather allows it. Because of this,  Dust rays will migrate from desert to desert in order to stay flighted. They're most commonly found between the Windy Wilds and the Forbidden Territory. In the off chance a Dust Ray can't catch the winds or gets separated from its flock it'll instinctively bury itself in a few inches of sand; usually with nothing but its eyes poking out of the ground. Their only real defense is a venomous stinger at the end of their tail, which they'll stick into any unfortunate creature that happens to step on one.

Because they rely so heavily on the wind, Dust Rays have taught themselves over generations how to keep winds going arbitrarily. When enough of them group together, they're able to fly around in a circle in unison with enough force to create a miniature tornado. Naturally occurring tornadoes like are known as dust devils, but due to years of miscommunication and language barriers many people have mistaken the term "dust devil" for the creature inside and not the miniature wind storm.

## **Relations**

Generally speaking Dust Rays keep themselves away from other animals if possible. They certainly don't care for Pure beings. The use of airships over the years has caused a sharp decline in the Dust Ray population,  as ship captains are known to take extreme measures to keep flocks of them away from their ships; which often involves netting and killing them. Larger flighted creatures such as Dragons or Drakes have been known to eat Dusties mid flight, as they're far more dexterous and less wind dependent. The only creatures Dust Rays seek out are their prey, which largely consist of insects and small rodents. They favor flying insects over all else, but they'll settle for anything they can get their claws on so long as its smaller than them.

## **History**

Dust Rays have been around pretty much since the beginning. Even before the introduction of magic into the world and the creation of mirrors. Depictions of them can be seen all across desert dwelling societies dating back well before 7000BDI. Early depictions of them often involve their signature stingers. Warnings carved in stone depict unsuspecting creatures wandering through the deserts, only to meet an untimely end upon being stung.

In the past Dust Rays have been used in a more tactical manner. In times of war or unrest ancient people would commonly net a flock of Dusties, cut off their wings, and then plant them around threatened areas to act as living landmines. A flightless Dust Ray will remain buried in the ground, sometimes to the point of starvation, so they acted as effective traps. Modern people of Mirror Domain still use this tactic, albeit far less often. Seeing how common the practice of magic is nowadays its largely been outdated.

## **Adventures**

As stated, Dust Ray are migratory creatures. They follow the strong winds that sweep through the desert. Because they're near defenseless on the ground, apart from their stinger, they outright refuse to travel anywhere on foot. Outside of modern influence or natural disasters Dust Ray have never been seen outside the desert of their own free will.

## **Abilities**

Seeing as they're from the before times, when magic was seemingly nonexistent, all of the Dust Rays natural defenses are purely biological. They have their venom, but this is saved for a last resort in times of great danger. Given how long it takes for a dust ray to produce its venom its just not viable for it to sting anything and everything. Its only other defenses are only effective against small prey creatures. It has claws, but they're far more suited for digging and not for attacking. They also have small pointed teeth suitable for crunching down on insect exoskeletons or tearing the flesh of voles and mice.