Sand Swimmer

Stats and Info

 * Name: Sand Swimmer
 * Type: Monstrosity
 * Threat level: Champion-class
 * Territory: Deserts
 * Loot: Good

The Sand Swimmer is a snake-like creature located in the deserts of Eldham. Primarily hunting desert animals, the Sand Swimmer is a carnivore which primarily targets sheep, cattle, and humanoid species. The Sand Swimmer is born with a dark yellow exoskeleton, however, over time sand sticks to more and more of the Swimmer’s exterior until the dark yellow is completely obscured by a coating of sand. As such, newborn Sand Swimmers are far easier to hunt compared to their adult counterparts, as the dark yellow stands out against the desert sands better. The Sand Swimmer illustrated here is in its early adulthood, as shown by how much of its skin is covered in sand.

Behaviors
The Sand Swimmer primarily hunts its prey by burrowing into the sand and traveling underground, then striking at the prey with its poisoned fangs. The poison itself is unknown, though scholars suspect it may have been a paralyzing toxin. It also appears the Sand Swimmer stays underground during the day to avoid the sweltering heat, mostly emerging at night.

Judging from not only the lack of impact the Sand Swimmer has on the broader ecosystem but also due to the limitations of the desert, it is widely believed that the total population of Sand Swimmers in Eldham is no greater than a few thousand at most.

History
Sand Swimmers have existed long before the arrival of sapient life to Eldham, despite this the Sand Swimmer has not interacted with the wider Eldhamite environment in any significant way. Written records of Sand Swimmers are sparse and far inbetween, but there are records in Sylfaeist Libraries talking about “beasts under the sand” that have attacked bands of tribesmen, leaving little to no survivors. However, it seems that the presence of Sand Swimmers did little to deter the ancient tribes from living in the desert.

In later records, hunting Sand Swimmers became something of an initiation of tribesmen into becoming full warriors. After a successful kill, the poisonous fangs of the Sand Swimmers were fastened to sticks and used as deadly spears called Sil Fays. It can only be assumed that Sand Swimmers were hunted by desert peoples across Eldham, after their deadly fangs. After this point, records of the Sand Swimmers became virtually nonexistent.

In the present, while there are still Sand Swimmers roaming the deserts, it is far more common to stumble upon either past writings of them, or of skeletons half-buried in the sand. Judging from discovered skeletons, a fully grown Sand Swimmer can be as long as 10 meters, with newborns reaching about 2 or 3 meters. On a fully grown Sand Swimmer, their mouths have about 50 teeth, but it only seems the front 4 fangs have enough poison to be used as weapons, as no skeleton discovered has its 4 front teeth.