Sekir

All sekir tails are striped, with their bodies generally being a single solid color. Colors can vary wildly depending on genetics and their area as they tend to adapt to their surroundings growing up, gradually changing color until a certain point in their maturity. This is generally finalized by age 5 or 6 if not earlier, and further coloration changes are impossible past this point. Their tail colors tend to be vibrant and bright. Eye color is commonly shared with their tail stripes. Males tend to have brighter tail colors.These tail stripes, of course, glow when around their desired object(s) of choice. This illumination is minor, equivalent to a glow stick, but still makes them stand out like a sore thumb.

Their teeth are sharp and able to rip through flesh with ease, contained in a snout. Due to their lack of lips, they do not express much with their mouths (although toothy smiles and grins are possible, if unsettling to many) leaving that duty to body language and their eyes. Small, sturdy and sharp claws able to dig into a plethora of materials reside on their four-fingered hands and three-toed feet.

They are able to see in the dark, making low-light environments much safer to live in, if not giving them an advantage.

Their scaly, unsettling appearance and nasty temperament in these situations makes them a poor choice for long-term slaves or pets. They have still been made use of in certain projects here and there, however, such as excavation/mining projects where their digging abilities and potential ability to hone in on precious gems can be made use of. Rumor has it that there are some enterprising acetics attempting to replace search dogs with sekir with mixed results.

Biology

Reproduction

The sexual organs for both males and females are internal, and it is impossible for both to enter a state of arousal outside of the spring and summer when mating season starts. This is when the normally solitary sekir experience a desire to search for others of their kind or otherwise have sex.

Courtship involves a tail display from both parties involved, though it's usually up to the male to impress a female. Expending a small amount of magical energy reserves, they manually light up their tails in brilliant patterns to show off how fit for breeding they are. The healthier the lizard, the brighter, flashier, and longer the display will be, and therefore the more impressive. If satisfied with their find, the pair will copulate. After the deed is done, they will part.

Aphrodisiacs, magical or otherwise, can be used to bypass the seasonal mating if a chosen lizard has the means and so desires it.

Their young are born in egg clutches, usually numbering between 2 to 4 eggs. Females carry the eggs within them for around 3 months, laying them in self-made dirt holes, rock crevices or other such cramped, tight quarters where they are hard to find.

Their tracking abilities can allow them to find magic-enriched lands to lay in, if possible. In a place riddled with magical energies, such as a forest, eggs hatch in a mere 2 months. It takes 4 months to hatch otherwise. Magic lands are becoming rarer and rarer nowadays, though...

Diet

Sekir are omnivorous, able to eat both meat and plant life to survive. Younger lizards tend to stick to plants and insects as they grow up, moving onto bigger game as they grow older. Depending on their living conditions, Sekir may have a preference for fruits or meat.

Subspecies

Sekir have a few subspecies which have different characteristics compared to the norm, but which remain sekir at their core.

Quetzal

Quetzal sekir are swamp-adapted treasure lizards that inhabit the Mire and travel its vast landscape. They are taller and more slender than other sekir, and uniquely among their species have plumes of waterproof feathers in certain areas of their bodies -- a fan at the tip of their tail, along their spine, on the outsides of their forearms, and a crest on their heads. This plumage generally shares the same color as the luminescent part of their tails as well as their eyes, and is used primarily for displaying the quetzal's current emotional state, including threat displays and mating rituals. Apart from that easily recognizable and striking feature, Quetzal sekir have webbed toes, a secondary set of eyelids, nostrils positioned on top of their snout rather than on the front, and a flatter, longer tail which can be used in conjuction with the fan of feathers at the end to swim faster in rivers and pools of water.

Magic and Abilities

Magic

Sekir are expert trackers, using their tails to guide them towards any chosen interest. This interest in entirely relational to the lizard and can be strong or weak, and their tracking abilities reflect this: the stronger the interest, the better the tracking ability their tails allow them. Interests can be general, such as for prey (wherein the lizard will be able to hone in on any nearby animal that it hunts) or personal (where they can hone in on one particular person). Personal interests tend to more easily allow themselves to being tracked over long distances.

A very common example of a sekir's natural specialty is the ability to detect living beings, primarily for the location of prey and early warning of predators. The stronger their ability, the farther they can detect life signatures, and the more practiced they are, the more easily they can determine what those signatures are and how many separate ones there are. Even untrained, a sekir with this specialty is able to tell the location and general size of whatever's near it. Sometimes, though, a sekir will develop an interest in something other than detecting prey, and their specialty will reflect that.

A sekir can have more than one interest as well, though it tends to take a long time for the second or third interest to set in before they can begin effectively tracking it.

More specialized tracking magic outside of their natural abilities is a common line of study for this species, as it usually adds to their already formidable tracking power. In times past, it was fairly common for sekir to make a living finding objects for potential seekers. Their quality was top-notch, though this has waned slightly as of late as People became less trusted.

Physical Abilities

Sekir are agile and tough for their size; even a malnourished sekir can put up a decent fight for the unprepared. Their tails are flexible and strong, able to be used as a grip or to bludgeon others over the back of the head. Their claws are sufficient to rend unprotected flesh.

Culture

Sekir are solitary creatures, generally staking out a territory of their own or wandering the lands and making it on their own. They tend to reflect wherever they grew up, whether it be in a civilized area or the wilderness. As such, values can vary heavily from individual to individual.