Axtropa

## Appearance

Axtropa has a big body with dark grey throat, chest and belly. On the back are smooth white scales with regularly structured keeled, black scales going down to the end of the tail. The most promenent characteristic is Axtropa's torquoise tail, which has four rows of blades growing out of its sides. The sharp blades are aligned like several arrows pointing to the end of the tail. The white wings with rough black scales on the frame have steelblue membranes which glisten in the snow. Axtropa evolved special feet which have additional spines on the side growing down which grip into the icy ground. The neck is slender and quite long. The Wyvern's head is darker in color than its back. The scales on the face are pretty smooth and the snout is quite short with the upper jaw growing a bit over the lower one. Axtropa has several spikes growing from each side up to the top of the head, resembling a crown. The Flying Wyvern's teeth are that atrophied, it resembles a ring-like plate.

## Habitat and Ecology

Axtropa inhabits cold areas with trees or other plants growing availably. Habitats. this monster was found in, include the Taiga, the Frigid Mere and the Mountain Icepath. Thanks to its feet, the Flying Wyvern is able to walk on ice without slipping. It also uses the ice formations in these areas to sharpen the tail blades. The tail blades can be consciously moved to a certain degree by small muscles in the tail. Unreparably broken tail blades can be cast off and regrow again.

The monster is mainly herbivorous eating wood of different trees growing at the timberline or other plants growing beyond. Axtropa uses its tail blades to cut trees down so small scavangers and destruents often follow the Wyvern to wait for something to get caught or killed by a falling tree stem and devouring it. Axtropa usually ignores them. Additionally to its herbivorous nutrition it needs to feed on different ores to keep the tail blades in check or they might get porous and breakable. In the Frigid Mere where fewer plants can come through the snow Axtropa shows an interesting behavior. The Flying Wyvern uses the sound of its clashing blades as a form of sonar to find food beneath the snow. The usual nutrition in this area are certain nuts which grow, bloom and get fruits in the short time of polar summer, when the snow layer is thinner. The nuts then are able to survive years under the snow waiting for a warm enough summer.

Axtropas on mountains are usually more territorial than their relatives living in (sub-)polar regions as the mountains give less space. Yet in its nature it's nomadic and leaves regions periodically. In abundant feeding places several individuals were even sighted together. Fights outside of the mating season take place relatively rarely.

The Flying Wyvern hardly has any predators when adult yet it avoids dangerous monsters like Deviljho and monsters of Axtropa's caliber. Smaller monsters, including humans, are entirely ignored unless Axtropa gets attacked by them. The monster will then try to intimidate them causing sounds by clashing and rubbing its tail blades into each other. If this doesn't work, it unleashes its full power on the annoyances until they are dead or they fled.

In mating season a similar display of intimidation is performed. The males clash and rub its tail blades to create some kind of melody to woo the females. If two males make a similarly good melody they try to intimidate each other with these sounds until one gives up. If this happens, usually with nearly evenly strong individuals, a real fight might break loose, but this happens very rarely. After the mating both search for a suitable cave to lay their eggs or dig their own if necessary. Both partners protect the eggs together until they hatch, then the male and female alternately search for food while the other one stays with the offspring.

## Abilities

Axtropa is able to create ice projectiles in its mouth it can also grow to different sizes and scatter them in front of it or aim at a certain target. Apart of this of course the tail blades are its main weapons. Because of the fact that they can be moved separately and consciously a wide move set of tail moves is possible.

Other than that the Flying Wyvern uses bites, body checks and flying maneuvers to attack threats. Every tail attack may inflict bleeding when hit in short succession. Hardly any opponent gets out of a fight uninjured.

## Attacks

### On the ground

1. **Bite**: Axtropa runs towards an opponent lifts its head and chomps down on him/her.
2. **Body check**: When someone is at its side, the monster looks to the side, adjusts the direction a bit and then uses a body check to the side.
3. **Body check tail strike combo**: Same as above, it performs a body check but then also strikes its tail in a 360° rotation around itself. Only used in Rage Mode.
4. **Tail whip**: Axtropa prepares a similar tail whip as Diablos but on the first strike it hits its tail into the ground, then gathers strength and aligns its body to pull its tail out and whips it in the other direction than before in a 270° rotation.
5. **Ice plow**: The Flying Wyvern strikes its tail into the ground, pulls it forward while dragging along ice particles, which it then scatters in front of it while jumping back and flapping its wings. After this attack it is airbourne.
6. **Tail blade throw**: After the tail blades are broken it may cast them off to throw them to a target inflicting bleeding.
7. **The ripper**: The monster aligns its body so a target stands behind it and strikes down its tail diagonally. Can be repeated.
8. **Small ice projectiles**: Axtropa opens its mouth and creates an ice particle which it then either shoots into six directions in front of it, five in front and one at the backside, or up to six times on a target.
9. **Big ice projectiles**: Similar to the small ones it gathers fluids from its frost sac to create an ice projectile in its mouth but the Flying Wyvern lets them grow longer so bigger projectiles are created which shatter on the ground shooting ice splinters around the impact spot. Axtropa can shoot up to two of these projectiles in a row, but may also shoot one and and up to three small ice projectiles.
10. **Huge ice projectile**: Only performed in Rage Mode, it stomps its feet into the ground and gathers even more fluids to create a huge ice projectile it launches in front of it. When it shatters on the ground the projectile scatters in a longer range and inflict higher damage. A mine-able chunk of it sometimes gets stuck in the ground. After the attack, Axtropa taunts.
11. **Pin attack**: The Flying Wyvern brings its tail on the left side of it to take a swing, then it whips its tail about 200° to launch a target flying. After that it strikes its tail down. When this strike connects the pin attack commences and Axtropa presses its tail blades down on the hunter on the ground. If he/she can't free him-/herself fast enough, the Wyvern will once again launch them up and strike them with a tail attack which then inflicts bleeding.

### In air

1. **Claw attack**: Axtropa flies above a target and strikes its claws into it.
2. **Swiping the ground**: The monster charges at a target and then smash its tail into the ground and pulling it along, flying past the opponent while hitting it with its tail.
3. **Tail combo**: Axtropa pulls its tail forward beneath its body and then whips it to one side and uses the swing to rotate 360° in the air while its tail rotates additionally 180°.
4. **Front flip plow**: The Wyvern aligns its tail blades up, performs a front flip and smashes its tail into the ground. Then, like the ice plow but in the opposite direction it pulls its tail through the ground and scatters the dragged along ice particles by flapping its wings.
5. **The rise of the blade**: Axtropa will fly higher while spiralling and flies down with great speed towards a target. When it reaches the ground close to the opponent it rotates 360° and swings its tail into him/her. After that it still uses the speed to then conclude the attack with a bite. Axtropa will taunt afterwards.
6. **Small ice projectiles**: Similar to the ground version but it can only create up to four at a time.
7. **Big ice projectiles**: Similar to the ground version but the Wyvern can only create one at a time.
8. **Axtropa roulette**: Axtropa creates six small ice projectiles and jams them between its tail blades. Then it rotates itself 720° and the ice projectiles get shot at random.

## Notes

* The weakness is earth, then fire.
* In Rage Mode it huffs visibly and the chest becomes darker as the wings glisten more.
* When exhausted the chest becomes paler, the wings lose its glistening and it fails to unleash an ice projectile.
	+ Axtropa will precipitate a tree to feed on the wood or search for plants to eat.
* When the blades get dull the Wyvern searches for a suitable ice formation to sharpen it. This will cause a shiny drop.
* While it doesn't attack a hunter on sight before it gets attacked, afterwards Axtropa will instantly attack the hunter(s) which attacked it.
* The head and the wings can be wounded and the tail blades broken, then a part of the tail severed.
	+ After the tail blades were damaged Axtropa may cast them off. It will then search for a lode to replenish minerals and regrow them.
		- The tail blades can be broken again but it is not necessary for the rewards.
	+ When the tail is severed the tail attacks do less damage but still may inflict bleeding.

## Materials

Axtropa Jaw (when head damaged), Axtropa Webbing (when damaged), Axtropa Blade (only when tail blades broken or/and carved from tail), Axtropa Tail (when tail blades broken or/and carved from tail), Axtropa Scale, Axtropa Shell, Axtropa Dark Scale, Frost Sac, Ice Shard (mined from a stuck part of a huge ice projectile) Axtropa Plate