Often called the Lorath dragon, the Meruu is a hot-blooded giant reptile of the Krua family, resembling a cross between an alligator and a giant python, depending on the extension of their body. They earn their nickname due to their intimidating appearance with large golden human-like eyes, swept back horns and a mixture of scales and fur depending on the environment they've chosen to settle in. Their wings are repurposed into a second pair of front legs: both with simple grasping hands similar to those of a rat though obviously much larger. They are known for living in a vast array of environments: Sweeping across sand like a snake, swimming through water, climbing trees and hiding beneath the ground.
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Often called the [[:lorath_matriarchy|Lorath]] dragon, the Meruu is a hot-blooded giant reptile of the Krua family, resembling a cross between an alligator and a giant python, depending on the extension of their body. They earn their nickname due to their intimidating appearance with large golden human-like eyes, swept back horns and a mixture of scales and fur depending on the environment they've chosen to settle in. Their wings are repurposed into a second pair of front legs: both with simple grasping hands similar to those of a rat though obviously much larger. They are known for living in a vast array of environments: Sweeping across sand like a snake, swimming through water, climbing trees and hiding beneath the ground.
Largely solitary, they were hunted close to extinction due to their venom (an ethanol/decoagulant mixture) often irradiating due to the Meruu's habit of digging up radioactive ores and magnetites which become deposits in their horns as advanced sensing organs
Largely solitary, they were hunted close to extinction due to their venom (an ethanol/decoagulant mixture) often irradiating due to the Meruu's habit of digging up radioactive ores and magnetites which become deposits in their horns as advanced sensing organs
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=== Ballast Cavity ===
=== Ballast Cavity ===
Meruu are unusual in that the anal cavity of the animal extends into the tail somewhat; this is used with the collection of smooth rocks and pebbles which act as ballast, either in flight or when swimming, to travel to great depths.
Meruu are unusual in that the anal cavity of the animal extends into the tail somewhat; this is used with the collection of smooth rocks and pebbles which act as ballast, either in flight or when swimming, to travel to great depths.
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They are known to produce entirely sterile fecal matter which is sterilized inside the body with no smell, usually in a thick syrupy slippery clear form resembling egg whites and yellows or as solid white highly compact eggs. Smelling strongly of pheremones, it is often used to mark their territory. In the wild, this waste product is often radiologically active.
=== Facial Assembly ===
=== Facial Assembly ===
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Like most Lorath animals, they're capable of passive psionics, able to detect and exploit the sentiments and behavioral characteristics of other organisms to better hunt them: Testing with psionic blocking devices has proven this to be the case.
Like most Lorath animals, they're capable of passive psionics, able to detect and exploit the sentiments and behavioral characteristics of other organisms to better hunt them: Testing with psionic blocking devices has proven this to be the case.
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They often spend a lot of their time seeming very docile and can be gentle giants - though the smell of meat or blood is known to trigger hunting behavior - not unlike a shark. Cornered or outnumbered, this behavior vanishes, meaning anyone approaching a Meruu has to do so individually. This docile behavior does not exist in captive settings.
==== Mating habits ====
==== Mating habits ====
Meruu are largely solitary with dominant females, known for fighting for "ownership" of males and are known famously for reproducing with their own young: culling females and keeping males which very rarely leave the den. Their eggs can take months or even years to successfully gestate and take months to form inside the female's body meaning they are slow to reproduce even if a brood is formed. Common practice is to pin or constrict the male, with the female dominant at all times.
Meruu are largely solitary with dominant females, known for fighting for "ownership" of males and are known famously for reproducing with their own young: culling females and keeping males which very rarely leave the den. Their eggs can take months or even years to successfully gestate and take months to form inside the female's body meaning they are slow to reproduce even if a brood is formed. Common practice is to pin or constrict the male, with the female dominant at all times.
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===== History =====
===== History =====
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Going back hundreds of thousands of years, Ey'tis have been one of the first species domesticated by Lorath. Their flexible genome, intelligence, strength and temprement lend them well to breeding into Ouns -- a sub-species (Ey'tis specifically being the wild form as wolves are to dogs). In spite of this, Ey'tis themselves remain especially popular -- being some of the first animals early L'manel would aspect with to deepen their bond with the animals in ways which today would often be considered social taboo such as taking the animal for a mate and then integrating to a pack and then either rising to the top and returning to society with them or as early on was all too often the case, submitting to the pack and eventually becoming all but indistinguishable as the aspectation entered dangerous levels.