Xiuhcoatl

Cryptologic Name: Fterophidia xiuhcoatl
Planar Origin: Ilhuicatl-Teotlatlauhco
Habitat: Tropical climate, primarily jungle habitat
Diet: Carnivorous

Appearance & Morphology
Xiuhcoatls are one of many creatures in the Ophidiaves family, which display features of both snakes and birds. These particular creatures have long, serpentine bodies covered in small, colorful feathers and plain snake scales along their bellies. A bright ruff of larger feathers extends from the base of the creature’s neck, and can be raised like a frill when the xiuhcoatl is displaying. They also have a spiked, colorful ridge on their snout which matches in height the length of its head. From the tip of the tail protrudes a bony structure resembling a club which comes to a sharp point. The xiuhcoatl hatches at a length of 50-70cm and can reach lengths of up to 10m in length when fully grown, though it takes decades for these creatures to reach such a size.

Magical Abilities and Behavior
Like many nonmagical snakes, the xiuhcoatl is an ambush predator, meaning it usually waits until prey wanders within strike range before seizing it in its coils. Their large shout ridge can shift in color and even produce flashes of light, which they use in a similar fashion to anglerfish, creating dazzling displays to entice prey to into their waiting jaws. This display has an explicitly magical mesmerizing effect, so it is important to take proper precautions when observing these creatures. Study has shown that the magic only takes effect when the observer can perceive both the colors and pattern of the flashing lights, so people who are colorblind have a natural immunity to their effects, as well as other creatures who perceive light differently. As a full grown adult, xiuhcoatls will often prey upon smaller species of dragons, as their mesmeric display seems to be particularly effective on draconic creatures. In addition, their body feathers having a natural flame-retardant quality which protects them from the dragon’s fiery breath.

Aside from their use in luring prey, xiuhcoatls will also use these colorful displays to attract mates and to defend territory. The mating display involves an intricate interplay between males and females, while the defensive display is similar and is always accompanied by a raising of the feathered frill on the creature’s neck. Territorial disputes can often lead to fierce fights between these creatures; the xiuhcoatl will use its bony tail club to lash out, often attempting to damage the nose ridge of the adversary and disrupt its ability to properly execute its mesmerizing display. Individuals who take extensive damage to their snouts have a much harder time capturing prey than their intact counterparts.

Field Notes

• While I don’t wish to downplay the danger these creatures pose to humans, I do find the young of these creatures to be quite charming and mostly harmless so long as they’re under about 2m in length. It takes time for the creatures to master their mesmerizing patterns, and while they do have sharp teeth and reasonably strong jaws, these are not venomous creatures.

Occamy

Cryptologic Name: Poulicephalos badhatana
Planar Origin: Materia
Habitat: Jungle
Diet: Carnivorous

Appearance & Morphology
Occamys are long, serpentine creatures with a mix of traits from both snakes and birds. The occamy’s head mostly bird, with a strong beak and bluish-purple feathers and it has golden eyes with slitted pupils, resembling a snake’s. The feather’s transition to scales down the creature’s neck, and back to feathers at the tip of its tail which ends in a colorful tuft. They also possess powerful wings which allow them to soar quite adeptly.

Behavior & Magical Abilities
The occamy’s most notable magical ability is choranaptyxis, meaning it can grow or shrink in size in order to fit its available space. It is unclear if this ability has a strict limit; we rarely see occamies grow larger than 5m in length or shrink to smaller than 15cm, but because we don’t entirely understand the mechanism of this magic we can only speculate as to whether there are limits to the creature’s range of sizes.

Occamies are carnivorous and quite dangerous; while they eat mostly insects, rodents, and small birds, their ability to grow in size means that they can easily injure or kill an unprepared mage if one happens upon them. What’s more, they are fiercely territorial and protective of their nests, as well as having a strong sense of smell, so nesting sites should be avoided.

Field Notes

• Cryptozoologists have observed that occamies never expand past the boundaries of their immediate environment when in an enclosed space; for example, if an occamy slithered into a shoebox, it wouldn’t expand in size to break/be free of the shoebox. There are two possibly explanations for this, one being behavioral and one being magical. It is possible, since we still don’t fully understand how these creatures’ magic functions, that this is a limit on the magic itself, meaning they are incapable of growing beyond the boundaries of an enclosed space. Alternatively, the behavioral possibility (i.e. they simply don’t do this, even though they are able to) may be explained in terms of preventing injury to themselves. For example, if an occamy was contained in a metal box and expanded, it may cause serious injury to the occamy before the box broke (assuming it did ultimately break).

• Occamy eggs are widely sought-after because their shells have an outer layer of pure silver.