Selaini

**Selaini** are Snake Wyverns, native to the Seamarsh Swamp.

## Appearance

Selaini are small sized Snake Wyverns that lack arms and legs, instead having two large skin folds that act like sails in the wind where ones would be. They are noted for having a tail that is hook shaped with two points. Their mouths are wedge shaped, creating an illusion of a wide, open smile when looked from above and below the monster. This mouth has fangs stained green and curved sharply.

Their colouration is a mixture of teals on the top half and greens along the bottom, with vine patterns along its scales.

## Behaviour

Selaini are passively aggressive monsters, only attacking hunters if they are in a group or the hunter is alone and close by. If large monsters are about they hide at the area's corners and may or may not try to attack small monsters determined by their numbers and status. Left alone, they coil around branches and vines, with their tails being able to be used as hooks to swing on. If panicked, they will attempt to glide away to safety even if a hunter is attached onto them.

## Attacks

* **Glide**: Glides into a target, doing small damage.
* **Hook Strike**: Lashes out its tail at a target for close range.
* **Nature Parasitic Bite**: The Selaini opens its mouth and glides towards a target, biting them. If it hits a hunter, they will be inflicted with Natureblight,

## Damage Effectiveness

### **Physical Damage Effectiveness**

 Tail

* **Bold** parts are weak points.

* ★ = 1-30% effective damage
* ★★ = 30%-70% effective damage
* ★★★ = 70%-100% effective damage

## Ecological Information

### Placement In Food Chain

Selaini are limited to hunting endemic life and other small monsters of its size. Their light weight and fragile frame naturally places them at the low tier of the food chain, and will attempt to flee from all large monsters that come across them. They are able to attack and possibly kill other small monsters like the Slagulai and the Verhisl when they are alone and vulnerable.

### Behaviour Towards Other Monsters

Selaini are quite timid around monsters of large size and those in packs, keeping a good distance from them whenever they are around. In a group of themselves and/or spots prey that is on their own with no danger nearby, they can try to bring it down with bites. They will often gang together to hunt down any small monsters to ensure they collapse from their parasitic-nature inflicting wounds before they can fight back.

### Tracks

They do not leave any useful tracks that can be traced, as they are small monsters.

### Specific Locale Interactions

Selaini will use their tails to hook onto vines and branches in dense vegetation. When coiled around, hunters can use their grappling hook to swing across from their tails.

### Special Behaviours

When hit by a stone, Selaini can be hooked onto by their own hooked tails, where they will take a hunter to a place like a Wingdrake.

## Quests

 **Sub Quest:** | Slay 2 Qinlarzec
*None*

## Ecology

### Habitat Range

The Selaini have been only sighted in the Seamarsh Swamp where there is vegetation sufficient enough to utilise their gliding capabilities. It is assumed that they rely on the unique climate and habitation of the area to live. Despite being close to the area, they cannot reside in the Corroded Bog as a result of its corrosive and hazardous environment.

### Ecological Niche

These Snake Wyverns occupy the vegetation filled areas of the Seamarsh Swamp, taking a role of the main predator of Endemic Life in the region. If they form groups, they are capable to challenging other small monster predators like the Slagulai, Verhisl and the rare Qinlarzec. If things go right they can even kill them by effect of their signature parasitic spore covered fangs, granting them big meals that last them weeks.

As they are fragile on their own, they have much to be aware of in case of the main predators. If they fail to get to safety in time then can be tied up in the vine-silk of the Prime Verhisl, snatched in the tongue of the blind Cenuzal or even fall victim to the jaws of a Razivus.

### Biological Adaptations

Selaini are highly noted for their ability to glide in the air without use of fully functional wings. They achieve this through skin flaps in place where arms and legs would be on a usual monster. There are four air sacs under the skin that through the gaps in the scales, take in air as these flaps are unfolded. On a gust of wind the Selaini takes aloft, using the front and fore flaps in fluid synchronisation to glide through the air in a slithering fashion. A normal glide usually lasts five seconds, though on a strong wind or descending from high up, it can travel for up to five minutes at a time.

A jaw from one is wedge-shaped as to hold its curved fangs and for efficient deployment of its main weapon. Instead of using a venom as a creature like this would typically have, the Selaini have adapted to their surroundings by sucking up the spores released by the parasitic plant-life that they live amongst. The spores go into glands attached to the fangs of them, and on pressure, they release out in a green-coloured fluid. On contact with a victims blood the spores appear to immediately germinate, directly infecting them internally. Three bites on a monster the size of a Verhisl is typically enough to cause fatal internal interference. They are not as effective against larger monsters and those immune to the Nature Element, though the injection can prove severely irritating.

Also present on a Selaini is a hooked tail, with two points which is the hardest part of their bodies. This hook serves a variety of purposes for them, such as latching onto prey to bite them and fighting in close range. Mostly, it is used to quickly attach themselves to an object while gliding, and hanging from vines as a mimic along them. The tail is also used in social situations, as mates will dock their tails when in breeding.

### Ecological Behaviour

Selaini thrive in the various plant-life of the Seamarsh Swamp where they can easily snatch small prey crawling in the vines. Although capable of taking down another small monster of its size, they are timid about doing so, as their frame that allows for flight is very vulnerable to a direct strike. They typically only attack in groups against lone prey, and they stay away from any large predators they see.

They tend to remain close to each other to give themselves a more believable camouflage to the smarter of monsters that could tell of one sticking out. This group behaviour is essential to hunting down bigger prey, as one individual would be unable to take down a larger monster without any resistance from it, and hunting in a group the prey often get distracted or instantly overwhelmed.

## Trivia

* They were created for a contest for small monsters by Democide.