Yuunagi

Yuunagi
Statistics
Japanese Name	ホーミーズ
Romanized Name	Yuunagi
Official English Name	Dread Eels
Features	Three Tailed Fins Clawed Forelimbs High Intelligence Perfect Memory
Vocalization
Homeland	Sanctura Akitsushima Brimstone Crag

The Yuunagi is a predatory species of amphibious fish that can be found in all seas, and one should consider themselves lucky to not find them. Though spread out through the world, there are only five known islands where you can find them all year long. Five solitary islands where they gather to grow their schools and reproduce.

Biology & Subspecies

Collector Yuunagi

Full view of a Collector Yuunagi

The local morph of Sanctura Island, and the most enigmatic of the known morphs. Usually recognized for their clawed forelimbs along with their slender or muscular bodies, this morph seems to contradict the standards of the whole species. Fin-webbed claws, making them ineffective for grabbing and cutting. Bulbous and fat bodies that has resulted in them becoming an ambush hunter, never wasting energy on a chase that they believe won't result in a guaranteed catch, a far cry from the persistence hunters most of their species is known for. And while lethal in its razorsharp fins and scales, that is not their primary means of hunting. Their strategy for the hunt, instead, appears to be concussions and knocking the air out of their prey, rendering them choking on the seawater or making them lose consciousness from the get go before dragging them into the depths.

This morph also appears to have a tendency to not simply go for meats and contesting territories. The reason for their morph's name comes from the fact that they carry with them the tendency to gather valuable metallic and shiny objects and carry them to the bottom of the lagoon, an area known as the Bonebed, a name sourced from the tales that when you see it, you cannot see the seabed, but rather a sea of bones and fossils, and on top of the bones are the materials they've collected.

The bones vary from all kinds of animals that they've hunted, including the skeletons of humans and other tribes and races. But most impressively of all, the fossilized remains of the dragons that has been speculated to have made a home on Sanctura. No one group of scientist and biologists can agree on why they behave in this way.

Some speculate on that the collection of the objects is a trait formed from the want to keep their young within a safe distance from home, the shine and gleam of the materials under the light of the moon hypnotizing the young Yuunagi to stay within an easily perceivable distance.

Another theory is that they use the gleam of these objects to attract prey of all origins after noticing how it pulls in the dumb and daring. Humans in particular seem to have taken a liking to their treasures, lured by the high value, making any daring fool easy to make into the day's meal before adding their remains to their ever expanding pile.

Then there is the theory that they gather these things not because of any actual sensible reason or strategy but for something far more nefarious in essence. Bones, metals, gems, and more, that are not the result of their kills are never taken. Scientists have attempted to spread coins and jewels into the water to see if they can make sense of the behavior. Not one was gathered. That is, until they attacked the scientists in question. The men and women were gathered and dragged below, same with the treasures of the boats that was sunk. This behavior has resulted in the belief that their collection is not a matter of evolutional benefit, but an actual treasure trove of their own making. It isn't a home, not a replication spot, it isn't even a hunting area. It is the world's largest trophy rack. They do not gather for the sake of benefits, but out of pride in their hunts.

Which, when considering these factors of only gathering the results of their labor, and the largest skeletal remains down on the bonebed is the remains of dragons, it stands to question whether or not something as imposing as the dragons of old were still nothing more than oversized prey to these creatures, and if these monstrous eels still had the same personality then as now, which cannot be proved for certain, could it be that they considered the dragons easy prey?

Prime Yuunagi

Full view of the Prime Yuunagi

The most common example of this species is the Prime Yuunagi. It was the first one discovered and the one that set the stage for what to expect from the remaining morphs. Found to reproduce only at Akitsushima, these Yuunagi have developed a more peaceful attitude towards the natives of the island. Trespass on their grounds and you are as much prey as any other creature, but outside of their established boundries, they do never seem to bother the Bug-Men and Arachnoids of the island, appearing to have completely lost any interest in them as a food source.

These tribes have also learned how to guide them to their areas temporarily during times of floods and invasive species, letting them feed upon the invasive surplus. It is a complicated process, requiring patience and haste all at once. Not to let them catch up too much, but not let them lose interest either.

The Prime Yuunagi have accentuated and colorful sails, claws, and razor-sharp fins to mark them as their own unique morph. Their strategy for winning the days in battle is the perpetual and wilting cutting of the prey's flesh before scurrying off and only coming back to do it again once they are drained of energy and blood. With every aspect of them, save for the belly, being sharp as a knife,

They live by the rule of 'waste not, want no', eating everything about their prey that is at least somewhat edible. Meat, organs, skin, marrow, brains, and bone is all just food that would be a waste to leave. With this mindset, these Yuunagi devour what they've eaten at a rapid pace, leaving nothing behind and then proceeds to rest and digest for weeks until they hunt again. Energy efficient in their daily lives, they can accomplish a lot for a long time on very little food. Once they've eaten their fill, they will be in a near cataconic state as they digest the brunt of the meal for the coming two days.

Without a doubt the most numerous and fierce in nature, they are also the most adventerous in spirit among the Yuunagi. They are the reason that one can find them across all the seas of the world. Where as most Yuunagi seek to find their way back home every year, these ones can be absent from their homeisland for half a decade at least before making the journey home to their birthplace. Most common of the common Yuunagi beasts, they are thus the cheapest specimens on the market.

The Prime morph have also shown a very strong sense of familial bonds. While that may be by nature for all Yuunagi, the Primes have the tendency to be the leader of every Yuunagi school that encompases many morphs in the same group. Some morphs cannot co-exist, and others will force the rival to starvation if put in an enclosed area. But when the Prime is the Alpha of the school, this typical aspect to rival Yuunagi just seems to disappear, and the scientists and biologists cannot make sense of the reason to this behavioral change for them.

Some have speculated on a "Alpha Strain" running through each Prime Yuunagi at its core, making them apt picks for leadership in a multi-morphed school. Their intelligence is also hinted towards being keener than the other morphs, as they seem to have a deep understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each morph, and with coordination, making the faster eels distract the enemy from the slower, bulkier one to then let its great mass come into play where the fast and small ones cannot quite breach.

When a fisher is told that there are Yuunagi near, it is the Prime morph that immediately comes to mind.

Ultima Yuunagi

Full view of the Ultima Yuunagi

A morph that was believed to be extinct, it was only recently discovered that there was one specimen left of the Ultima.

Cannibal Yuunagi

Full view of the Cannibal Yuunagi

Hailing from Brimstone Crag, these are the most feared of all morphs. Not necessarily because of notoriety among the tribes, but rather because they are feared by nearly all aquatic life, including other Yuunagi. Usually this animal finds no need to fight, and never a reason to kill their kindred eels. The Cannibal contradicts the programming of their species for indiscernable reasons. While the others avoid eating fish like it was the plague, seeing it as a form of cannibalism, these find no shame in that very behavior. They will happily eat anything landborne or aquatic. Even their own morphs if the hunger so demands it from them.

This is unprecedented behavior, but their terror doesn't end with their macabre feeding practices. This morph appears beyond such matter to be a morph that has far too much human behaviors to them. Many animals can find joy and entertainment in games and stimulation by their environs, or even toys when in captivity. The Cannibal have no such interests as it would seem, but that is merely because most do not witness how they have "fun". They find entertainment in tormenting their prey, dealing damage with attacks that are in no way meant to kill or even swiftly bleed them out. They actively seek to make their meals suffer before death, to die in fear and pain. And the killing blow will never come. They will wait until the blood is fully drained or they die from shock.

Sullen Yuunagi

Full view of the Sullen Yuunagi

Cloudcutter Yuunagi

Full view of the Cloudcutter Yuunagi

Devourer Yuunagi

Profile view of the Devourer Yuunagi

Regal Yuunagi

Full view of the Regal Yuunagi

Jewel Yuunagi

Profile view of the Jewel Yuunagi

Traitor Yuunagi

Full view of the Traitor Yuunagi