Pikehead

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Information provided by @PeachiBread

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Common Name: Pikehead

Genus: Agesevalda

Species: gae’speir

Endemic To: Agniria

Habitat: Desert

Diet Type: Omnivore

Diet: Cacti, Cactus Fruit, Dry Grasses, Flaked Off Bark, Insects, Twigs

Height: 11 Feet(3.5 Meters)

Length: 26 Feet(8 Meters)

Weight: 3.4 Tons

Features: Slender Pink-Ended Pointy Head Crest, Beaked Mouth, Long Prehensile Tongue, Thick Mouth & Throat Lining, Medium Length Neck, Sandy Brown Muscular Body, Large Darker Colored Spotted Back Sail, Smaller Front Legs Than Hind Legs, Three Toed Feet, Hooves At The End Of Each Digit, Long Stiff Tail

Lifespan: 35-40 Years

Sexual Maturity: 5(Males), 3(Females)

Hatch Period: 2 Months

Clutch Size: 22-34 Eggs

Personality: Alert, Wary

Aggressiveness: Low

Sociability: Medium(Males), High(Female)

Group Type: Herd

Herd Size: 15-25(Breeding Season)

Description: Pikehead’s are large reptilian Metafauna which stand at 11 feet tall, are 26 feet in length, and weigh around 3.4 tons. They are primarily a sandy brown coloration in order to blend into the sands of their desert home, however they are known for the color differences of their head crest and the sail on their back. Their head crest in particular is quite striking as it possesses a long front end which curves downward into a point, while the back of the head crest curves upward and possesses two prongs before its pointed end. The pikehead’s crest is special as it is actually composed of separated air chambers allowing it to make wildly differentiated vocalizations compared to the rest of Agesevalda. The head crest, along with the top of its head, is primarily black in color for both sexes, however males will possess a pink coloration at the end of the head crest. The Pikehead possesses a more slender beak in comparison to other members of Agesevalda, possessing a weaker bite force while also possessing the same thick molars.

The inner lining of a Pikeheads mouth and throat is extremely thick, allowing it to avoid damage from anything it eats regularly. This has allowed it to specialize in eating cacti and the fruits that grow on them, grasses both healthy and soft or dry and stiff, and even bark and twigs that have fallen from decaying trees. Pikeheads are known for their higher intake of insects compared to other members of Agesevalda, regularly using their prehensile tongue to lap up any insect they can spot, as a result insects form the majority of their intake of moisture aside from cacti. The hind legs of a Pikehead are much larger and longer than their front limbs, allowing them to achieve a bipedal stance in order to gain a higher vantage point or to allow them to stomp downward with more power. They are also known for their thick stiff tails which allow them to achieve a level of balance on their hind legs, allowing them to rear up for long periods of time or even run bipedally for a distance. They are native to the vast deserts of Agniria and are one of the larger species of Agesevalda. 

Pikeheads will constantly roam the desert looking for water or cactus patches, and while they are large they are not known for their aggression, opting to run before defending themselves. Should running not be an option, the Pikehead will fight extremely aggressively, even regurgitating a sticky liquid from their crop to spit at a predator, to either distract them or cause their eyes to become blocked by spitting it in their eyes. Pikeheads live in small herds of 15 members mostly made up of females, as the males will typically head off to live in either smaller groups or they may live solitary lives for most of the year. During mating season the solitary or small group living males may join any available herds, causing the number of members to increase to 25 members. Pikeheads do not select a specific nesting site like other Agesevalda, but will instead travel to the nearest watering hole, which the males will then aggressively chase off any pre-existing residents, though should they fail to clear it out they will continue traveling until they find an available watering hole.

Once at the watering hole the whole herd will enter into the water, where they will engage in an elaborate and vocal dance, waving their heads back and forth while walking together, and making a series of loud calls. Once the dance has concluded those within the group, both male and female, which found each other's dance attractive will group together and will construct a nest together, once complete each involved male and female will mate with one another, and after a period of time the females will lay the eggs. The Pikeheads will remain at the watering hole looking over the eggs as a community, with one member always remaining on the eggs at a time while the others will forage, sleep, drink, and socialize. After 2 months the eggs will hatch and the herd will raise the young communally, until the young are self-sufficient. Once the community has determined the young will survive they will wait until the night after where they will all leave. The young will remain at the watering hole they were born at until they run out of either water in the dry season, or until all the plants have been consumed.

Abilities: Complex Communication, Prehensile Tongue, Stunning Kick, Tail Smack, Thermal Regulation, Weaponized Regurgitation

Powers: Sonic Boom

Naturia: Wind

Complex Communication: Due to their head crests they are capable of producing a complex repertoire of vocalizations to communicate with members of their herd, though some sounds have to be generalized for non herd members. 

Sonic Boom: The Pikehead can infuse their vocalizations with Naturia wind energy allowing them to amplify these vocalizations to achieve a sonic boom. Under most circumstances they limit said frequencies to simply stun a particularly aggressive opponent, as this will allow the herd to quickly gather together to dispatch said opponent. Under extreme circumstances a Pikehead can amplify their sonic boom ability to be powerful enough to crack stone, knock an opponent out, or cause an air embolism within the lungs of an opponent resulting in their death.

Prehensile Tongue: The Pikehead possesses long prehensile tongues covered in sticky saliva that they are able to use to pick up small insects or even clean their eyes, nostrils, and ears.

Stunning Kick: A Pikehead can produce a powerful kick with their hind legs which is able to stun or injure an opponent. Particularly they have been known to cause heavy damage to humanoids due to kicks to the digestive and respiratory system. 

Tail Smack: Due to their thick stiff tails they make for excellent blunt weapons and can be used to smack away opponents which approach them from the rear or knock over small vegetation.

Thermal Regulation: The large sail on their back is filled with blood vessels near the skin which they can flush with blood, causing the sail to darken in color and release a lot of body heat. 

Weaponized Regurgitation: The Pikehead possesses a crop for storing food, during digestion within the crop a sticky liquid is created as a byproduct which the Pikehead can spit at an opponent.

General Weaknesses: Age, Illness, Injury, Nasal Strain, Separation, Sonic Backlash

Naturia Weakness: Fire

Age: Young and elderly Pikeheads are generally more vulnerable to predation than healthy adults.

Fire: Pikeheads are particularly vulnerable to Fire and Fire Naturia attacks from either predators or weapons.

Illness: Pikeheads are vulnerable to many maladies which can result in them becoming an easy target for predators. They are particularly vulnerable to nasal diseases as a large amount of mucus can impede their ability to vocalize or produce a Sonic Boom.

Injury: Pikeheads are vulnerable when injured.

Nasal Strain: Overuse of their Sonic Boom can result in their nasal passages becoming strained and can even result in damage to the internal structure, resulting in nosebleeds or a permanent dampening of their vocalization ability. 

Separation: Separation from their herd can result not only in an increase in vulnerability but an increase in stress and anxiety within the separated individual.

Sonic Backlash: The Pikehead is not immune to the effects of their Sonic Boom, and have been known to receive damage to their beak or bone as a result of releasing a particularly powerful Sonic Boom, though these injuries are not severe most of the time it is not unheard of for a Pikehead to accidentally blast off a part of their beak by accident.