Swathi

Swathi
Size: Up to 50' in diameter.
Threat: High
Location: Great Marshes, Bogs

A Swathi represents a large, tentacled mass of flesh. The largest portion of a Swathi is their torso, which while starting small - only a few feet in diameter - grows quickly as the creature feeds. There are three notable features when it comes to a Swathi's mouth. Firstly, the majority of Swathi have a near-flat beak of great durability and keenness. Second, a Swathi's actual mouth has inwardly pointing teeth, making most attempts to rip free a trapped limb more hazardous to the victim than helpful. Last, the mouth of a Swathi can stretch up to two-thirds of their total width. A fully grown Swathi is more than capable of grabbing the whole of a searching Predator's hand.

Inside the torso is the majority of the Swathi's organs. This includes their three hearts, brain, and stomach, and several other organs - the later of which can swell the boneless body up to 1.5x it's normal size in peak conditions. The Swathi's brain is more developed than that of several other 'wild' species, granting them an intelligence almost comparable to that of the 'civilized' races of Felarya. Lacking any sort of formal language, schooling, or care about the workings of the universe prevents this intelligence from being noticed by most observers, though it is undoubtably there. There are no known sensory organs in the torso of a Swathi.

Connected to this mass of flesh is a number of muscular tentacles. The most common numbers are between eight and twelve, though up to sixteen have been recorded on some variations and as few as four on others. Either way, the base number is always even. To find a Swathi with an odd number of tentacles means you either have not found them all or injury has removed some. Half of the tentacles possessed by a Swathi will always be thicker and longer than the others. The larger tentacles are just that - regular tentacles used for grasping, thrashing, and occasionally rending. The smaller tentacles serve a different purpose.

The tip of each 'small' tentacle (a deceiving word, on the larger Swathi they are still plenty strong enough to crush a human's spine) is tipped with a large black eye with a white pupil. Swathi can view in two separate ways with these eyes: normal, and infrared. If a Swathi feels there is something out there that it cannot find with one mean of sight, it will quickly switch to the other and search again. These eyes are high vulnerable when attacked, though rarely found as they stay close to the surface of the waters. The eyes individually have poor depth perception however, thus often need to be used in groups. This can be used to one's advantage if they can blind the other eyes or keep them facing elsewhere, greatly increasing their chances of escape.

The larger of the tentacles can grow up to four times as long as the body is wide, while the smaller can reach up to thrice. The largest Swathi recorded had grasping tentacles as thick around as a tree's trunk, and eye stalks the bore of a cannon.

A Swathi will often hunt by lurking with its variable-buoyancy body only a few feet beneath the surface as its eyes search the nearby terrain. When a Swathi notices a Prey approach, it will slowly withdraw its eyes towards its main body while determining how best to attack it, if the Swathi attacks at all. A Swathi may pound one heavily armored foe to the point of internal liquefaction, drown another by luring it deeper into the bog then holding it beneath the waters, and dispose of a third by tossing it as far away as possible. Swathi have been known to even catch the occasional young harpy by using an earlier, still living prey stuck in their mouth as bait.

As the prey struggles to escape from the maw while above the surface - looking for all to see like one attempting to remove a limb stuck in a mire - an inexperienced Harpy may swoop down for the easy meal. When close enough, the Swathi will snap out to snatch the bird-of-prey by their feet. If attracting too large a meal or one too strong to effectively take down on its own, the Swathi will use its beak to 'free' the caught Harpy from the mouth. Experienced Harpies have found ways around this, leading to them catching the Swathi and reversing the pecking order. This in turn has led to Swathi lucky enough to survive the encounter to further their own plans, and so on for the Harpy until one party out-thinks the other.

Swathi reproduce asexually. The process of reproduction occurs at roughly every five foot growth interval. A Swathi will gorge itself until full, before depositing a large portion of mass in a sort of chrysalid along the bottom of their water body. There the material will be modified before a unique Swathi is produced. The Swathi prevent stagnation in their genetic tree by combining their own code partially with that of their prey (Note: It is impossible for any sort of Prey to be 'reborn' as a Swathi - if their mass is used in the reproductive cycle, their brain has long since been decomposed).

This may lead to a somewhat scaly Swathi if feeding on a diet of mostly reptiles, cat-like eyes along the end of tentacles if feeding on a good deal of Nekos, slightly flatter teeth if herbivores, etc. It is rumored that if a Swathi fed on a certain species alone for a long enough family tree, they could eventually 'birth' an almost replica of that species.

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Before I move on [since I still have a good bit of ideas on these], I would like people's opinions on Swathi.

It's very interesting idea. I like it

Awesome Idea! They seem familar to me some how. Are they based off some movie monster?

Interesting. 50' diameter? Does that mean small Naga's are attacked too?

ericnthered123 wrote:

Awesome Idea! They seem familar to me some how. Are they based off some movie monster?

Not really, but I realized shortly after thinking of such they'd sound somewhat like the creature in Deep Blue or something. The monster that ate everyone on the Cruise Ship.

vegeta002 wrote:

Interesting. 50' diameter? Does that mean small Naga's are attacked too?

If they get close, yes. Well, if they get close and the Swathi both is hungry and feels it could take the Naga in the scenario.

Quote :

Not really, but I realized shortly after thinking of such they'd sound somewhat like the creature in Deep Blue or something. The monster that ate everyone on the Cruise Ship.

Deep Blue is a movie about penguins.

Deep Rising is a movie about a giant killer cephalopod.

That aside, I really like it. They're fairly mundane, but definitely frightening. I like the genetic refreshment mechanism. It helps it be distinct.

It appears most of my ideas for the Swathi have fled, now I am stuck with further ideas of how they hunt. Input is welcome if anyone feels something would be nice added on, but a few things I would like to say first:

1) I would not like to see Swathi capable of speech. It just doesn't feel the same to me if a Swathi can speak with another being unless it's very far down on the "Near-replica" chain [in which case I don't truly see it as a Swathi any more].
2) Magical abilities are also something I don't feel are necessary. While one developing in a water outside the Marshes may have such a power [Feel free to make your own subspecies, which you CAN give speech and all], I do not feel it is needed for those there.
3) I retain the right to give Swathi of the Great Marshes only those abilities or traits I deem worthy. However, Swathi located elsewhere on Felarya are fair game for you. Think there's some trait that would be really epic but I don't allow? Find a niche for it elsewhere on Felarya. Want the Swathi made of ice? Perhaps there is one lurking underneath frozen waters by Frost Peak. One that lives in Molten Metals and is regarded as a God by primitive tribespeople nearby? As stated in two, go for it.


And one last thing I feel might be worth adding, or might not, for Swathi:

There's rumor going around of a Swathi in the Great Marshes that has a fleshy pair of growth's on it's torso resembling a large pair of Predator Breasts. This Swathi has been known to float above the waters and lure passing Male Harpies nearby to take as lunch. Needless to say, its main diet is not Male Harpies.

On the reverse, there's a Swathi bearing a fleshy growth resembling another part of a Giant's anatomy. This Swathi has received a steady Female-Pred diet for decades.

Quite a scary species to hear of.

But it does sound highly interesting. I like it.

*shudder* If I have nightmares tonight, I will probably send you a gift-wrapped present with a bomb inside.

Cool idea, yet very creepy when you think about it---kind of reminds me of "The Thing" in a way. What I really don't like is the thought of them being anywhere other than marshes. I can really visualize a giant evil blob of doom floating around the murky waters of a hazy, muddy marsh, but not in any fresh lakes, frozen areas, or serene forests. It just doesn't fit.

Now I should probably go to sleep before I fall asleep on my keyboard.

A great idea I think ! And really nicely described.
Great work