Name: Scorbon
Quick Facts:
Height: 6"
Width: 4 to 6"
Length: 12"
Weight: 4 lb
Native to: Hotlands and Nashaki
Locations: Eastern and some parts of Central Idalos.
Appearance: The Scorbon Scorpion is indigenous to the Hotlands of Nashaki and appears to be built up entirely of bone, with thin, wiry tendons holding it together. It has a sharp, black claw on the end of its tail which it uses to sting and quickly paralyse its victims, able to drop a horse in less than ten bits (minutes). The Scorbon can be found in a small variety of colours including sun-bleached white, pale yellow, a light tan, grey, and in some rare cases, black. The claw on the end of its tail is always black but glows a fiery red during the mating season in Ashan when Scorbon become extra territorial.
Habitat: Unlike most species of scorpion, the Scorbon makes its home in trees where it can pinch unsuspecting prey, such as birds, from under the palm leaves. It is fantastic at camouflaging itself in the sands and often people realise too late that they have stepped on one of these creatures which usually results in a nasty sting. The debilitating toxin they inject into their victims is not powerful enough to kill, but instead paralyses its prey for up to five breaks, leaving it open to attacks from a range of creatures often out hunting for a meal in the desert, and more often than not, large targets of the Scorbon’s sting are used as bait for the Scorbon’s preferred meal, Hotland birds, bugs, and even snakes.
Lifespan and Development: Scorbon live for as long as thirty arcs (years) but can take up for eight arcs to mature. Fertilized eggs are held within the female’s body where they remain while the young develop until they are strong enough to hatch. After hatching the young climb onto their mother’s back where they remain until their first moult. This species, unlike their nocturnal cousins, like to hunt during the day and sun themselves on hot rocks until their bodies are warm enough, enabling them to move much faster than the average scorpion. The Scorbon doesn’t have many natural enemies as it has very little meat on its bones and is difficult to kill, with decapitation or fire being the only two methods of ending its life.
Diet: A Scorbon can go up to two whole cycles without food, but must drink water every ten trials (days) to survive, making them ideal for tracking water sources in the desert, and often, they are captured and sold for this purpose exactly. The Scorbon Scorpion eats a variety of insects, spiders, lizards, rodents, small birds, and even other scorpions. They are excellent at waiting in ambush and sometimes even stalk their prey until they are ready to eat.
Temperament: Volatile and extremely territorial, the Scorbon does not like anyone or anything getting too close to its home and will often attack anything that ventures too close, stabbing with its tail or clicking its chela (pincer-like claws) together loud and fast as a warning. These creatures can move very quickly, especially across hot sand or rock walls and have been known to coexist peacefully with each other without any trouble outside of the season of Ashan, and though it is rare for them to work together, there have been reports of attacks taking place where more than one Scorbon was involved.
Abilities: With a powerful bone hide, the Scorbon is almost impossible to crush, even with the use of heavy instruments. Short of being stepped on by a horse, these creatures can be tricky to slow down and can squeeze their bodies into very tight spaces, often taking shelter under heavy rocks or piled man-made goods such as clay pots and roof tiles. Their red hot tail points can burn through a man’s flesh and bone during the season of Ashan and they leave a sticky residue with the consistency of honey wherever their small, pointed feet touch that has been known to irritate the skin or even cause painful rashes that last up to six trials (days).
Credit: Nefere
