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| Maaris Cobra | |
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| Fauna | |
| Official Name | Maaris Cobra |
| Common Nicknames | Giant Cobra |
| Classification | Reptile |
| Habitat | Farahdeen |
| Domesticated | Yes |
| Current Status | Uncommon |
The Maaris Cobra is known as an exotic Mount of the Songaskia that is well-adapted to the clime it exists in. Its stark black color scheme easily marks it out in the desert sands, as does its ability to defend itself by spitting its venom. The animal is also known for its aggressive male-to-male mentality in the wild, though domestication has all but extinguished it in those tamed and ridden across the sands of Farahdeen.
History
The Maaris Cobra, before the Great Storm, has an ill-understood origin as tales of many fearsome reptiles considered the spawn of Dragons existed among the ancient Skyborn. The Maaris Cobra appeared sometime before the Cataclysm, apparently muscling out lesser creatures to occupy a spur of dune-filled territory known at the time as the Cobra Hills by the Skyborn. It was a fearsome land feature to be avoided, but when the Red Hunt began, the Clockwork machines of the Skyborn marched through the hills on their way to fell the Bronze Dragons that were their target. Greatly disrupted, Maaris Cobras fled across Farahdeen. The Great Storm descended on the continent, and this giant snake species was one of the few to survive the disastrous event. In the ensuing decades, the Maaris Cobra proved shockingly tameable to the Songaskians' pleasure and the Skyborns' horror. As the Skyborn fled before the marching host growing into the Songaskian Masaya, Songaskians moved in pursuit of them atop the backs of these great serpents. The Maaris Cobra is a large, fearsome mount of the Songaskia today. The Skyborn, however, outright reject the animal in favor of their Bakhshuna Jamals and technology, viewing the Cobra as a pest worth the trouble of exterminating. Both as a result of their efforts and the rounding up by the trainers who tame them, the wild numbers of the Maaris Cobra have dropped significantly in recent years. Still, their population is healthy, and will likely persist in the domesticated sphere, even if they somehow fade out of the wild regions of Farahdeen.
Physical Appearance
The Maaris Cobra is an enormous serpent, easily dwarfing its cousin, the normal cobra, from which it derives many characteristics. The Maaris Cobra, if laid head to tail-tip would be some twelve feet long, but this length is rarely apparent. Their weight varies, but healthy, domesticated members of the species sit at some 300 pounds. Their heads possess a broad, rounded snout, large, dark eyes; and their signature hoods. These hoods are broad, reaching up to three feet in radius, and extremely stiff. Wild specimens are often kept flat at all times, save during aggressive periods, but those domesticated varieties keep them expanded at all times. This is because the hoods are the main point a Maaris rider sits on, and they need to be expanded to allow this. The animal’s head also includes a broad mouth, a toxin reservoir, and a forked tongue. The Cobra can spit its venom a distance of nearly ten feet, though some reports indicate it can reach far further in certain, well-trained specimens. The rest of the animal’s body is sleek, without further details, and ends in a pointed tail. The body of a Maaris Cobra is coated in black scales, but unlike most snakes, this coloration continues even onto the animal’s underbellies. The only points of natural color on their bodies might be within their hoods, which sometimes have a light diamond formation of dusty pale scales that are stark against the black of their bodies.
Diversity
Wild Maaris Cobras have a stark 4:1 gender ratio of males to females when they are born. However, nature and other Cobras eventually make this closer to 2:1. Domesticated Maaris lack such a stark gender ratio. There is no sexual dimorphism but some claim northern populations have males as usually being larger, and southern populations have females as larger. This is difficult to prove given their growing rarity in the wild, with domesticated members being easily traded and moved about Farahdeen. As mentioned, only some Maaris Cobras have natural visual distinctiveness in the form of the pale diamond formations in their large hoods.
Life Span and Development
Maaris Cobras are among the few reptiles not to lay their eggs in the sand and leave. Instead, a mother will store her eggs within her own body until they are ready to hatch, at this point, she will lay them into a shallow sandpit, with many being born within just a few minutes of this occurring. Maaris eggs are oblong and pale grey, speckled with black at either end, and are four inches long and between one and two inches wide. Clutches are between twenty and forty members, though a few rare instances have seen up to sixty being born. Maaris Cobra birth pits are extremely hazardous, as upon being born, the brood members will immediately begin to compete for survival, their mother having left. Any animal unfortunate enough to come nearby is almost certainly dead, as even small baby Maaris Cobras, incapable of expanding their hoods, are still toxic and will spit and eat what they kill. This period of violence continues for as long as twenty-four hours, at which point those that survive the pit then leave the area. Female Maaris Cobra babies will often leave early from a birth pit, giving them a better chance of survival. In domesticated surroundings, tamers will usually prematurely remove babies from the pit and separate them into smaller groups, feeding them raw meat piecemeal and keeping themselves protected from any spitting toxins. While they are small starting, the Maaris Cobra will rapidly mature over a year, and by a year and a half, will have reached their peak size. The species lives for up to thirty years in the wild, and up to forty in domesticated surroundings.
Mental Overview
The Maaris Cobra mentality is considered a mystery to outsiders, as it is rare for such a large mundane creature, especially a reptile, to be domesticated as the Songaskians have; the wild mentality is easily understood. The wild Cobra lives in hilled and often rocky locations and is largely nocturnal in their activity. They hunt prey like smaller reptiles, insects, and small mammals, but also occasionally each other, cannibalizing younger members of their species, especially if they are an adult male encountering an adolescent male. They typically attack without venom, using quick strikes and direct injection as needed in their victims. When approached by other Heritages, or large creatures like other adult Maaris Cobras, or beasts, the Cobra activates its defensive mechanism. It will raise itself, and snap out its hoods, flicking its tongue aggressively and often pooling its body beneath it. From this anchor point, if the threat does not back off, it will spit its venom, and if that is not enough to result in a withdrawal, it will strike forward and attack.
Domesticated Maaris Cobras, meanwhile, have largely seen this mentality trained out of them, only growing aggressive when approached aggressively, or when encountering unfamiliar individuals. Luckily, the breadth of Races living in Farahdeen makes this a rarity. Outsiders say domesticated Maaris Cobras are enthralled by their owners, obeying subtle physical gestures they're trained to understand. Maaris Cobras often have their hoods extended at all times of day and have largely lost their nocturnal leanings. They live in pits dug into the sand which mimics the tunnels and crannies Maaris Cobras prefer to sleep in, with as many as ten to a pit, and lack competition, even during the mating season. When these cobras get old, some instincts return. They will often sleep for long periods of the day and become “grumpy,” an anthropomorphizing of a disobedient, less pliant mount who requires firmer commands to obey the wishes of its rider. However, it is exceedingly rare for them to break and spit their venom at their keepers or to strike their bodies.
Territory and Groupings
In the wild, Maaris Cobras are solitary, only existing in groups when they are born, and during the mating season, if more than one male detects and seeks out a female. They are territorial to other members of their species and large creatures. Maaris Cobras when domesticated live within Songaskian communities with ease but often are located at the fringes of cities and towns in areas called Maaris Ranches.
Trivia
- Maaris venom is as black as their scales, and some believe it is more potent through a Maaris’ active consumption of Hagaans.
- The Maaris Cobra saw limited use in both the First and Second Songaskian Wars due to the difficulties of transporting them overseas and then, in the battles within Farah’deen itself, due to the local populace seeking to protect them by hiding them away from the devastating hand of the anti-serpentine Regalians.
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