Sothoryos: Creatures
by Shella Longclaw
It’s the home of wyverns, which are known to be vicious and considered the smaller cousin of dragons. There is a reason that ancient Valyria stuck to the isles and didn’t venture again onto Sothoryos. Wyverns aren’t the most dangerous creature native to there. They have enemies. The large crocodiles called suchus by the Ghiscari have been seen to devour wyverns. Suchus have also been reported to kill dragons though only medium to small ones. They are said to live in the Green Hell.
The giant snakes, titans (their Valyrian name) can slay any size dragons. Emperor Chai Nui wrote down what happened to the Valyrian colony. He had a terrible argument with the dragonlords on the eve of the battle against the Brindled Men, so he refused to come to the aid of the Valyrians. The two dragonlords flew low to the ground to burn the Brindled Men. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Dapple Men coaxed the titans over. The monsters lunged at the dragon from great heights and coiled around the dragons’ necks. The dragons fell died to the ground. Their riders soon perished with them. When the Valyrians saw their dragons fall, they quickly fled, and they never returned.
I will not waste time discussing the better-known wyverns and basilisks. Instead, we’ll look at the white bats and tattooed lizard. Neither creature is dangerous or violent. The tattooed lizard, called goanna by the Summer Islanders, are simple scavengers that only consumed dead things. The white bats don’t drink a man’s blood. They do drink cattle’s blood and are deadly, since it is believed they spread sicknesses.
It is believed that some wasps and stinging flies are more deadly than basilisks because they easily spread illness. Very few travelers have survived to describe any deadly insect except for the unicorn fly.
As for the giant apes that are bigger than giants themselves, the Yi Tish and the Summer Isles don’t believe they exist. They think instead that they were stone giants (Yi Tish scholars) or large bears (Summer Islander elders).
