Hagaan

Hagaan
Fauna
Official Name	Hagaan
Common Nicknames	Farahdeath Crawler
Classification	Reptile
Habitat	Farahdeen
Domesticated	No
Current Status	Common

The Hagaan is a skittering sand-dwelling reptile of Farahdeen well known for its highly toxic venom. Infamous across the region, they have been a feature in Qadir society since the ancient days of their people, and survived the Great Storm to surge and devour the dead. While they are commonly connected to the Ordial due to their dangerous venom, the species remains untouched and unaffected by any Essence of that realm, instead being an all-natural threat which fortunately has caused the creation of many cures for its caustic effects on the sentient body.

History

As one of the oldest and best-recognized species of Farahdeen’s many fauna, the Hagaan has shared a close association with the region’s peoples throughout the rise and fall of their civilizations. In the earliest days, Hagaan were virtually fear-worshiped, their bites marked with the macabre cutting off of limbs rather than any attempt to either let the victim linger, or to locate a cure. “As lethal as a Hagaan” was a phrase that began many millennia ago before it became commonplace in modern Aloria, and for good reason. However, this association with death soon linked the species with the Ordial realm, even if the animal itself had little influence from that plane. Hagaan venom, in particular, became a tool of Ordial worship, and surprisingly, this is when cures for their venom were discovered, as priests did not wish to risk the chance of accidentally killing those valued by society (like themselves) for chasing a high and experience with the Beyond. Fortunately, when this Ordial dominance was overthrown, the cures developed for Hagaan venom remained intact, transitioning into the hands of the flourishing technocracy of the Sariyd.

The threat of the Hagaan thus greatly diminished, and some believe that the cures for the venom were so widespread that a mass inoculation took place, allowing the Genos of the Qadir people to become resistant to the potency of the Hagaan. Certainly, the modern effects are dangerous, but ancient descriptions mention far more radical effects than those observed today. Regardless, the Hagaan again emerged as a threat in the wake of the Great Storm. Already hardy animals, they survived and then thrived, feeding on the millions of corpses of other less resilient fauna and the dead Qadir buried in the sands. Their numbers soared, and for a time, the Qadir and Songaskia each waged their own “Hagaan War” against these venomous beasts. Eventually, the animals dropped in number again, mainly thanks to the ongoing Qadir-Songaskian conflict. Qadir dead drastically decreased as machines took over the fight, while for the Songaskia, Necroservants summoned from the ancient dead no longer put them in harm's way (though they couldn’t die from Hagaan bites to begin with, instead simply having their lives cut shockingly short). The Hagaan, despite this return to a more manageable population, is still a threat to non-natives of the region, and the locals themselves can never be too careful when they see a trickle of sand falling down from that nearby dune.

Physical Appearance

Hagaan are usually small reptiles, reaching up to a foot and a half long, with a width of three to four inches. Their heads are the broadest part of their body, featuring a pair of deep, darting, yellow-colored reptilian eyes, a third parietal eye facing upward, two narrow nostril slits, and a large mouth filled with teeth. On the underside of their heads are also clearly located their two venom sacks, which dispense the substance into their teeth, or, most vilely, into their mouths for an emergency spit against a predator that has closed in for the kill. Hagaan venom aims to enter the bloodstream, where it will briefly fester, before making a beeline for the brain, seeking to attack and shut down an individual’s organs one by one once it has made its way there. Amputation helps stop this process, but even when it reaches up into the brain, the Hagaan Cures often soften the otherwise intense blow for instead, an extremely ill stomach, aching limbs, and rapid dehydration. All of these effects are also the ones presented when a Hagaan bite ends up being lethal, with the added effects of seeping blood, and full shutdown of limbs one at a time.

This venom has been a trademark of assassins for years, both as a result of its aggressive effects, and because it is so rare to acquire outside of Farahdeen. Yet, it still finds its way off of the continent, and has been tied to high-profile deaths over the past several decades. Returning to the animal’s physical biology however, below the broad head sits the body, which is slightly raised closer to the spine, and thin out toward the sides, making them appear rather flat. Their four small limbs are made for rapidly scrambling, and digging in the sand, with half of their length taken up by their narrow tail. Hagaan are covered in a leathery, bumpy skin which is colored tones of orange and brown. They can be noticed while buried, however, by the black spots on their backs and random black stripes on their bodies in limited amounts.

Diversity

Hagaan can be found in nearly every desert in southern Farahdeen with one notable subspecies different from the others found in Qadir territory in particular. The normal Hagaan has more black spots than it does stripes, while the Peninsula Variant is known for its thicker tail and for having more black stripes than dots. Males and females of the species are generally born in equal numbers, and the populations of both Variants of the Hagaan remain healthy

Life Span and Development

Hagaan mate and produce eggs once a year during the Farahdeen winter season. These small, brown with black speckled eggs, laid in a clutch of three to ten, will be laid in a nest and then guarded by the female while the male leaves to gather with other males, or to find a new mate. Females guard their clutches fiercely, especially from other females looking to take advantage of a nest already set up for the purpose of laying eggs. After a month of incubation, the eggs will hatch and the young hatchlings will emerge. While broadly the same in appearance as adult Hagaan, just in miniature, their rear legs are less developed, and their tails are thicker, resulting in a slithering lower body for the first few months of their lives. Females continue to care for their young during this early time, but after the eighth month since their hatching, she will leave the now adolescent Hagaan to survive on their own. Many quickly leave the nest after, with one or two siblings remaining behind, and sometimes fighting over this available territory as a new mating season nears. Hagaan can live between fifteen and twenty years, though many die well before this, as adolescents, when their venom remains weak.

Mental Overview

Hagaan are complex creatures, cataloged extensively by the Qadir thanks to literal millennia of cohabitation and examination. In truth, they are simple lizards, with a routine and understandable method of operation as they go about life. As a chiefly ambush predator, they hide just under the sand in an area of their territory for hours at a time, waiting for prey, regardless of size, to pass by. They will then strike with an aggressive jump, and seek to inject their victim with their venom, at which point they will scamper away, and leave them to die, returning later for consumption. With smaller animals, this death is often fairly quick, and so the Hagaan will skitter away with its prize between its jaws. The species also eats insects, though this only requires digging in most instances. Much of this hunting activity takes place at night, where the occasional gleam of a Hagaan’s eye can be seen in the sand, which sends them scampering away from the traveler that has noticed them. However, the Hagaan are also scavengers, and will not hesitate to eat decaying flesh.

Hagaan are not very social animals overall either. While they congregate for mating, and remain fairly neutral toward their siblings in their youngest years, outside of these times, they are territorial and testy. Hagaan tussles are often long, perhaps slightly comedic, but can also be ferocious, as without their venom, Hagaan have only their bite, claws, and slapping tail to send a message. Some Hagaan will even fight to the death should they be irritated enough, or their territory violated too many times by another.

Territory and Groupings

Hagaan are solitary creatures during the calendar year, only gathering in one spot during January of the winter season in Farahdeen. Such dense gatherings are always best to avoid, and even Qadir scholars have only observed them from far away. Hagaan territories outside of these periods of time are small stretches of desert and dunes, usually sitting at barely half a mile in area, and often with its edges overlapping with other Hagaan. So long as a Hagaan’s core territory, where they sleep and drag their food back to eat (if it is of a suitable size for such an action), is not violated, they are generally able to avoid conflicts with other Hagaan.

Trivia

• Dead Hagaan are sometimes reanimated to serve as pets for the particularly Ordial-aligned among Songaskian society. They lack the venom of the species' living members, but still carry the creature’s sinister reputation.
• Hagaan leather is an exotic material not unknown to the fashionistas of Ithania, nor those of the Songaskian Masaya.

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Accreditation
Writers HydraLana Processors FireFan96	Last Editor HydraLana on 01/7/2024.

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