Sandhawk

Artwork by lemonyh

Sandhawks are enormous flying creatures native to Sedo that were last sighted some 800 years ago, but have recently awoken in the Sear, and are spreading their territories out along the edges of the Sear. Apex predators and absolutely deadly adversaries, the Sandhawks are a difficult foe even for the most experienced Fury squadrons.

Although sandhawks can be communicated with via Familiar Whisperer, they do not wish to do so. They can be called upon by Beast Summoning, but can not be controlled for long.

## Appearance and Biology

Sandhawks are very large avian creatures. Closely related to thunderbirds, the two are easily confused when seen from a distance in the air. However, there are two obvious indicators, even from a vast distance, that what you are looking at is likely a sandhawk - the slow, methodical beat of its wings, and the fact that the creature is alone.

Sandhawks are immense in size, with even juveniles matching thunderbirds in size. An adult sandhawk may grow to be anywhere from 50 to 85ft in wingspan. They have large, leathery wings with visible arms. They have stout, muscular bodies, with short back legs that are useless for walking, but have sharp talons. They have long tails with large feathers acting as a rudder.

Their necks are much shorter than that of a thunderbird, lessening their ability to quickly snap at targets from any angle. This is made up by the fact that their heads, and especially their jaws, are enormous. A sandhawk can and will swallow a pegasus whole, given the opportunity. Unlike thunderbirds, they have visible teeth. These teeth are sharp and long, designed for ripping prey apart; and like sharks, sandhawks have several rows of teeth, as they are constantly replacing the ones that fall off.

A sandhawk will always have a decorative crest on its head, and a smaller one on the top of its beak.

Sandhawks are usually grey, near black, muted or sandy brown, or cream in color. They may have white patterns and stripes on their bodies.

Sandhawks are well adapted to life in an arid landscape and can regulate their body heat to a degree. Despite this, they prefer to hunt at night, as they have excellent vision in low light, and the darkness helps them sneak up on prey. The sandhawks eat whenever food is available but can go for over a week without food. After gorging themselves on meat, the creature will be too heavy to fly properly and is likely to hide in their nest.

## Behavior

Sandhawks are solitary creatures. They rarely come together in large flocks, and when they do, it is usually an effort driven by their shared malice and ill-will towards other creatures - or simply hunger. Most of the time, however, the sandhawks hate each other just as much as they hate anything else, and will engage in fights to the death to defend their territories.

As opportunistic apex predators, the sandhawk will attack anything it thinks it can kill and eat. While it will usually not bother with anything smaller than a foal, it might go after any creature if it is bored. The preferred prey of sandhawks are thunderbirds, and although a single sandhawk is unlikely to attack a whole flock, they will often pick off loners or thunderbirds out hunting alone. They will also target familiars, as they are often alone, and as such, make for easy prey.

Unlike thunderbirds, sandhawks are not particularly intelligent. They are skilled hunters, as well as very stubborn, but their cunning is of an animalistic kind - they understand ambush, hunting and the thrill of the kill. They are not strategists, instead relying on their large size to guide them through encounters.

Sandhawks can and will attack equines, whom they view as prey. They will avoid conflict with large groups (over 10) as they are aware that horses may be surprisingly dangerous prey. Hungry or desperate sandhawks might ignore this wisdom, so watch the skies.

## Abilities

The sandhawk gains its name from their main ability - a control over sand and wind. They can cause sandstorms with their innate magic, although a single creature can’t create anything past a small local storm. They use this ability to confuse and slow prey.

Their overall control over air is similar to someone with maxed out air manip. They will use their ability to create and guide wind currents that help them fly effortlessly, conserving energy. It is likely that they are technically capable of utilizing the wind as a weapon and a defense mechanism, but they don’t seem intelligent enough to do so. However, the combined force of their wings and their innate air manipulation makes flying near them a hazardous effort due to the unpredictable air currents - something many Furies of the past found out the hard way.

The sandhawks are completely shockproof, and can not be harmed by electricity; an ability that greatly aids them in hunting their favorite prey. Their skins are somewhat resistant to heat, but not open flame, and they seem particularly vulnerable to ice-related powers.
The sandhawks are stubborn and strong-willed and do not easily fall under the effects of mind-altering blessings.

Powerful fliers and excellent hunters, the sandhawks are deadly in combat. They are not particularly agile in the air due to their large size, but can take their opponents by surprise due to their ability to alter air currents, allowing them to quickly gain or lose altitude and speed. The sandhawks have great stamina, and they will easily outpace any pegasus in pure speed, meaning evasive maneuvers are one’s best bet.

## History

*Now it was Her turn. She weaved a storm in the skies, and out from the sand and ash came the terrible Sandhawk --- “A worthy adversary for me and mine”* - A tale of the sandhawk’s creation.

Sandhawks are native to Sedo, and are the creations of Alya. In the ancient times, they acted as adversaries for her and her Furies, and would be hunted in yearly ceremonies. They were respected as opponents, but also feared. The populations were kept low by the hunts, and felling a sandhawk was the ultimate test of a Fury’s skill and dedication to the arts of combat.

After Alya left Hireath, the Furies kept hunting the sandhawks as they always had. The hunts became more risky without their goddess to guide them, and with Sedo growing more desolate, the hunts slowly became rarer, and the population soon boomed.

Sometime after 845, the sandhawks banded together to destroy the city of Alhaj to claim the territories around it as their own. In retaliation, the Serorans chased them into the Sear, where they eventually died out.

When Alya, Cascade and finally Digend spilled their energies into the Sedo ground, the cocktail of magic resurrected the long dead sandhawks. Although only a few of them have returned, they pose a great danger - a lot has been forgotten in almost a thousand years.