Octopus Fulgincutio (Boltstruck Octopus)
Make no mistake, all the terrestrial predators in the Floating Ruins-and the rest of Ninjago-have attibutes that make them incredibly unique standouts, but there is species in this region that toes the line between fantasy and reality. So different that it could fall under the monster class.
Bigger than any living relative it has, the average Boltstruck Ocotopus is a staggering 40ft and 500lbs (1102.311 kilos). From its bulbous head down to the tip of its tentacles, this has earned it the title of "land kraken", and according to the team that went on the annual survey of the ruins, there was an individual who was downright titanic.
Because of the fact it rarely appears in the human accessible areas, this specimen is estimated to roughly be about 45-50ft and 550-600lbs (249-272kgs). As for age, debates with no end have been going on since its discovery. The most popular theory is that it seems to at least be ten years old, which makes it the oldest individual known.
Nicknamed "Yazaimondako" the specimen revealed itself to the expedition team during a tense encounter with a desperate Floating Cougar. According to first hand witness, they did not know it was even there. And the cat was too focused on them to realize it itself was being hunted.
At first the team thought they had been lucky, when loose rubble hit the cougar and stunned it, which gave them an opportunity to put distance. At least, until the bolts of lightning came through the ceiling. Coiling around important points on the cats body. Its throat, its front and back legs. It was a horrific sight, to watch the cat begin twitching until it was dead.
Then, the tentacles began to pull it up into the cieling. The only evidence that there had been a cat being the scorch marks across the stone. The only way they figured out it was a Boltstruck Ocotopus being that they would later see this same tactic employed on a sleeping Dark Condor they had been following.
From what was gathered from Yazaimondako's behavior as well as smaller specimens around the Floating Ruins, it appears that the downpour and thunderstorms during the spring and summer months is when the species is most active. Then when the cold, dry fall and winter come, they are absent in the months it takes for the eggs to be ready to hatch.
Much like the other animals, it appears that the Boltstruck Octopus was brought to the Floating Ruins by the ancient peoples. Where evidence for this is provided in pens and cages found for the goat, cougar and the condor respectively, archeologists have pointed out that some buildings have aquarium tanks designed to hold life-at least for a time.
There are two major possibilities proposed: the first being that the Boltstruck Octopus was seen as a harvest species for the peoples, and the second that it was mainly for sheer entertainment, given that in the some buildings there are pits that could have been used for animal fights. Adding on that it can survive on land so long it has moisture, the beast would have been a prized fighter.
Not only is this species intelligent beyond the others in its region, with it being able to further its understanding of concepts such as traps, bait, tool use and environmental awareness (proven by Yazaimondako, who is thought to have the brain functions of a five-six year old child), it is also part of the apex predators group that can use elemental abilties.
Thanks to studies and experiments done with smaller octopi taken back to Ninjago City, it has been found that all of their tentacles have the needed equipment to channel electricity. And yet, age seems to be the main contributing factor in dictating how they can control it, with size being more so secondary, given that the bigger it is, the higher the voltage number.
Which makes it all the more odd that Jay Walker, the Blue Lightning Ninja, has a Boltstruck Octopus for his symbol. Especially given that it is a skybound species, with any on the ground known to be in facilities largely made to study them. When asked how his master knew of their existence, he relayed that he did not entirely know either, much like Zane Julien with the Ice Emporer Sabre.
As for when he was asked, Master Wu left it at "wisdom is proven by many failures."
