The Dragon Eaters

by Duke Kittle

  * * *

  “The Jirai Wyrm has only one natural predator in the world.” An old, grey-furred Kylathian male let his eyes scan across his small procession of students.

  Tina had been introduced to the older feline by her former master. He’d left her in parting with the words, “Master Gri’end is the foremost mind with knowledge of the creatures roaming this world, Tina. Note him well.”

  Tina had at first wondered why she needed to learn about the various creatures of the world of Cerra Sevatia. But in the time she’d spent in Master Gri’end’s tutelage, she had come to learn many valuable lessons from the various beasts of which he’d spoken.

  “Culthis Majori is a creature with a cone-shaped head, a long, snake-like body, and a pair of glaive-bearing arms protruding from its body approximately a foot below its head. It has a particular skill which has come to protect it from the Jirai Wyrm’s hunting method.”

  One of the other students raised his hand. “Master, what’s a Jirai Wyrm?”

  Master Gri’end scrutinized the student for a moment, then his eyebrows lifted. “Ah, yes. Nordis, isn’t it? You were sick for our lesson on the Jirai Wyrm last session. Can anyone tell Nordis about the Jirai Wyrm?”

  Another student raised her hand. “The Jirai Wyrm can grow to ten meters in length with a two meter girth. It tunnels underground and hunts its prey by digging holes for them to fall into. Then it swallows them whole and burrows deeper into the ground to let its food digest.”

  “Very good, Tessa.” Master Gri’end ticked a finger in the air. “But Culthis Majori, or in terms of the layperson, the glaive snake, detects these Jirai Wyrms by feeling their movement through the soil. When it finds a Jirai Wyrm’s trap, it uses its glaives to collapse the hole. The Jirai Wyrm then comes and eats the glaive snake.” Master Gri’end tapped the side of his muzzle. “Once capturing its potential prey, it takes its meal down into the ground.”

  “Inside the Jirai Wyrm, the glaive snake coats itself in a layer of mucus which protects it from the Jirai Wyrm’s stomach acids. It will then proceed to use its glaives to tear the Jirai Wyrm apart from the inside out.” Master Gri’end chuckled. “Always a lesson to remember; be careful of what you eat. With the Jirai Wyrm slain, the glaive snake has enough food to feed it for a month.”